KOCHI: Ending 2,065 days of anxiety and tension, Wednesday brought joy to the nearly tens of thousands of families whose land had been tagged for acquisition under the SilverLine project – the former LDF government’s much-reviled semi-high-speed rail corridor. Hailing the UDF government’s decision to denotify the project, people burst crackers and distributed sweets.
“Finally, the right decision has been made. We have been awaiting the denotification order. We can now legally lay claim to our properties,” said Salvin K P, a resident of Keezhmadu, Ernakulam. He said though the previous government had decided not to proceed with the project, it did not denotify it. With their land plots tied to the revenue department, families were struggling, he said.
“We were unable to sell or pledge our land,” said Nazeer B, a native of Elathur, Kozhikode, and a member of K-Rail SilverLine Viruddha Janakeeya Samithi. According to him, more than 150 families have been affected by the project in his hometown alone.
“It was a project that was drawn up without proper thought. A large number of people would have been displaced! And the compensation? Would the state government, already deep in debt, be able to provide adequate compensation to all affected families? There have been several cases of displaced people struggling to get the promised compensation,” he added.
According to unofficial estimates, around 30,000 families have been affected by the rail project. Every stage of the proposed Rs 63,940.67-crore project saw the state rocked by massive protests. People opposed the project on the grounds that it will displace them and cause loss of livelihoods.
Environmentalists expressed concern over the impact of the project on the sensitive biodiverse regions that it was slated to traverse. “Everything associated with the project was wrong,” said M T Thomas, who filed over 300 RTI applications seeking details of the project from the president, prime minister, railway board, railway ministry, finance ministry, southern railway, Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd, revenue department and other associated departments.
“We have been fighting for the past seven years,” he said. Thomas pointed out that though K-Rail, the implementing agency, put project estimates at Rs 63,940.67 crore, Niti Aayog pegged the cost at around Rs 1.26 lakh crore!
“The survey for the project began from Mulakulam on September 15, 2019. And our agitation started on October 5, 2019,” he said. Things took a turn for the worse when the state government initiated the laying of survey stones along the proposed route in December 2021.
“Officials used underhanded methods to place the stones,” said Nazeer.
The manner in which the entire process was carried out attracted widespread criticism. “Under police cover, officials trespassed private property and even worked at night to lay the stones. Owners were not issued prior notice. Police used force on several instances, which left protesters injured. Stones were uprooted at many places across the state, following which protesters were arrested,” he added.
Nazeer and others also welcomed the state government’s decision to withdraw the cases against protesters.
Journey to nowhere
May 2019: French consultancy Systra finds a semi-high speed rail project in Kerala financially viable; project later named ‘SilverLine’
Jan 2020: Hyderabad-based GeoKno India Pvt Ltd completes aerial survey
June 2020: Cabinet gives nod to DPR. Proposed Rs 63,931-crore, 53-km-long project would cut travel time between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod to less than 4 hours
Dec 2020: State Anti-K-Rail Silver Line Forum coordinates protests across state
Aug 2021: First notification issued for acquisition of 955.13 hectares
Oct 2021: Revised notification increases area to 1,221 hectares
Nov 2021: Metro Man E Sreedharan terms project ‘idiotic’ & ‘flawed’
March 2022: Laying of survey stones begins across the state. Protests erupt soon, halt entire process
June 2024: Following Centre’s non-clearance, state makes fresh pitch for project
Dec 2024: Railways Ministry rejects DPR, citing technical difficulties
May 2025: Then CM Pinarayi Vijayan says DPR under consideration of Railway Ministry
February 2026: Without formally denotifying K-RAIL, state government earmarks Rs 100 crore for Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod
May 20, 2026: New UDF-led government formally denotifies K-Rail project, recommends cancellation of cases against protestors