THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government is unlikely to go ahead with the High-Speed Rail project proposed by Metroman E Sreedharan in its present form. The expert panel appointed by the state government to examine the proposal termed it incomplete and recommended that it should not be implemented as proposed. The government has decided to conduct a detailed study before taking a final decision.
Briefing the media on the Cabinet decisions on Wednesday, Chief Minister VD Satheesan said the government would take a final call after studying the expert panel's report.
"The proposal submitted by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has been found to be incomplete, as no environmental impact assessment has been carried out," he said.
Satheesan said no land acquisition or related activities would be initiated until there is clarity on the project. The UDF government would not repeat the mistake committed by the previous Left government, he added.
"We criticised the LDF's K-Rail project for acquiring land without conducting a proper environmental impact assessment. We will not repeat the same mistake. The government will take a decision after studying the expert panel's report," he said.
The panel, comprising experts from the finance, railway and environmental sectors, found that the DMRC proposal lacked a sound economic model, the Chief Minister said. He added that the proposal also failed to address logistics and transport aspects adequately.
Satheesan said the government would carry out its own independent assessment of how the project could be integrated with the metro, ports and inland waterways.
The state Cabinet also approved the formation of a Business Policy and Re-engineering Cell to coordinate inter-departmental activities, map projects across the state and track file movements.
Responding to the political row over the appointment of government pleaders with alleged links to opposition parties, the Chief Minister said those appointed were among the names suggested by the Indian Lawyers' Congress. The final decision, he added, was taken after consultation with the Advocate General.
The Chief Minister also blamed the media over the MR Ajith Kumar issue. Responding to repeated questions on the delay in the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report against ADGP MR Ajith Kumar in connection with the alleged attack on Youth Congress leaders during the previous government's Nava Kerala Sadas, Satheesan said the government could act only in accordance with due procedure and could not take decisions based on media reports.