PALAKKAD: The Congress protested strongly the Centre’s reported move to shift the proposed coach factory from Kanjikode to Haryana.DCC vice-president Sumesh Achuthan and a group of Congress activists visited Kanjikode, where the land was acquired for the coach factory, and symbolically placed a wreath on it .
“The UPA Government had allotted the coach factory to Kerala, but the then LDF Government took four years to acquire the land and hand it over,” said Achuthan. “The local leadership of the CPM had not speeded up the process. M B Rajesh MP has blamed others for shifting the factory only to cover up this lapse. The coach factory in Kanjikode should be implemented along the lines of the CIAL model. The Congress will oppose the move to hand over the land acquired to private players.”
Meanwhile, M B Rajesh in his Facebook post had alleged the Railways was planning to shift the factory, for which the foundation stone was laid in 2012, to Sonepat in Haryana.
“It was a great betrayal to the state,” he said. “A conspiracy is underway to take the factory away to Sonepat where the Haryana Government has offered 161.48 acres on lease to Railways at the Barhi industrial estate.”
Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructural Development Corporation managing director Raja Sekhara Vundru said the government has decided to lease out the land to the Railways to set up a Rs 600 crore coach factory for the manufacture of 600 to 700 coaches annually. Rajesh said he had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu many times to seek the implementation of the project. The readiness of the Steel Authority of India Ltd to partner with the Railways to manufacture stainless steel coaches were also sounded. The issue was also raised in the Lok Sabha but the Centre did not give a clear reply, Rajesh said.