THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Describing the proposed SilverLine project as an “astronomical scam in the making” by the ruling CPM-led government, 17 UDF MPs from the state wrote to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw urging him to direct the state government to stop all activities regarding the project immediately.
Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan K C Venugopal and Congress MP from Puducherry V Vaithilingam have also signed the petition. Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor refrained from signing the petition as he was not fully convinced by the demands of fellow MPs. On Wednesday, Minister Vaishnaw will meet the MPs who signed the memorandum to seek more details about their objections to the project.
“This project is an invitation for financial and environmental disaster as it will plunge the state into an unprecedented debt burden and destroy its already fragile ecology beyond redemption. Several domain experts including Dr E Sreedharan have pointed out the alignment fault, cost overturns, and displacement of over 30,000 families.
The fiscal non-viability of the project is flagged by experts and with the state of Kerala having a burden of about Rs 4 lakh crore in debt, another Rs 1 lakh crore for SilverLine through external loans will cripple the finances of the state further. The possibility of large-scale corruption in securing foreign loans cannot be ruled out,” said the letter. The decision of UDF MPs to raise their concerns with the railway ministry followed the last week’s letter by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting the latter to speed up all clearances for the project.
The UDF has also launched an agitation on the ground against the project and mass conventions are being organised in all districts. However, Tharoor said he had sought additional time to look into the project, especially considering its widespread ramifications, so that he could arrive at a more informed decision on a matter of significant importance to the people of the state.
“To be clear, by not signing the joint memorandum, I was not endorsing the project, rather trying to use the opportunity to study the matter further,” said Tharoor. “As the letter signed by my fellow parliamentary colleagues (which I had not seen earlier) makes abundantly clear, there are significant questions that must be answered especially on the social impact of the project (including questions of displacement of local communities), the environmental implications (including the need for a clearer study on the environmental impact of this project, especially in ecologically sensitive zones) as well as serious financial or economic concerns (especially on matters relating to project financing, its economic burden on Kerala and the cost),” he said.
Vaithilingam signed the petition as he represents Mahe which is a part of Puducherry constituency. Silverline passes through Mahe too. The UDF MPs also suggested that pending the railway line doubling works in the state can be completed by spending Rs 4,000 crore and that will help run speedier trains through Kerala.
CPM to campaign for K-Rail project
The district conference of CPM which began in Kalamassery on Tuesday passed a resolution to launch a people’s movement to support the K-Rail project. The delegates unanimously observed that the SilverLine project which will cut short the journey time from southern tip of the state to the northern tip to just four hours, will play a key role in leading Kerala to the path of sustainable development. The district conference, through the resolution, extended support to the government and said it should go ahead with the idea of completing the project in a time-bound manner.