THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said the government would have to keep out people who object to infrastructure projects such as the construction of overhead power lines and underground gas pipelines.
Inaugurating a two-day international conference on electrical safety organised by the Department of Electrical Inspectorate here, he said it was up to the government to remove such obstacles.
“The government does not aim to inconvenience anyone. A few people will have to suffer certain hardships for the common good of the state. There is no other way,” he said. If electricity has to be imported in adequate quantities, the state’s transmission capability has to increase, he said.
While he did not specifically name the Edamon-Kochi transmission line which has been stalled for nearly seven years, the Chief Minister said the alignment of the line cannot be changed. “Earlier, when such objections arose, the approach was to yield to them. But this had endangered the state,” he said.
The same approach was applicable to the underground Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) pipeline, the work on which had been hit owing to objections from local residents in North Kerala.