KOCHI: A day after Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal claimed that in-principal nod has been accorded for the controversial SilverLine rail corridor project, the Centre on Friday submitted before the Kerala High Court that the proceedings of land acquisition for the project should be stopped at this stage as even feasibility of the present alignment has not been agreed upon by the Ministry of Railways.
The Centre clarified: "Granting of In-principle approval only means approval to go ahead for preparation of detailed project report (DPR) which brings out the complete details of the project including financials. Once DPR is made, based upon the details brought out, taking up of project or otherwise is decided. Any project expenditure is incurred once DPR is approved and sanction communicated. In the case of Silver Line, this approval has not been granted so far,"
There were complaints that the SilverLine project will be an obstacle to the expansion of Angamaly railway station which operates railway siding for the Food Corporation of India.
The statement was filed in response to the appeal filed by the state government challenging a single judge's order deferring the survey on the land of a few persons, who have approached the court against the project.
S Manu, Assistant Solicitor General of India, submitted that the DPR has been submitted by Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) and is under scrutiny by the Railway Board. KRDCL has planned this corridor parallel to the existing track that is approximately 200 km in length where 10-15 m railway land is being utilized by KRDCL for the proposed corridor.
As per the proposal, in the patch where the proposed line is parallel to the existing line no space will remain available for any future expansion of Railways and to accommodate future 3rd or 4th line. Sufficient details regarding technical feasibility are not available in the DPR submitted. Therefore, KRDCL has been advised to provide detailed technical documents such as alignment plan, particulars of railway land and private land, crossings over existing railway network, duly depicting afFected railway asset through Zonal Railway for detailed examination of the project and to arrive at conclusion about the feasibility of the project.
Also, the financial viability of this railway project of Rs 63941 crore is questionable. Since the Ministry of Railways is a joint venture partner in KRDCL, the debt component of Rs. 33700 crore will finally come on the Ministry of Railways as debt servicing, which is not possible with mainly passenger traffic. This will also be examined and firmed up after the finalization of technical parameters. "Even if the State Government is willing to provide debt repayment guarantee, the Ministry of Railways has to examine whether the project is financially viable per se," submitted the union government.
It also pointed out that After acceptance by the Ministry of Railways, a firmed-up DPR will be sent to NITI Aayog for appraisal. DPR is not yet accepted by the Ministry and hence has not been sent to NITI Aayog. The project requires to be appraised by the Expanded Board of Railways is an inter-ministerial body consisting of members of the Railway Board and officers of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Statistics and Plan Implementation, and NITI Aayog. After clearance from the Expanded Board of Railways, with the approval of the Minister of Railways, Cabinet Note regarding approval of the project will be forwarded for approval of the Finance Minister. Approval of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs will be sought subsequently. "Many representations are being received against this project in the Ministry. Major issues raised are the ruining of thousands of hectares of cultivable land, about 20,000 houses, shops, and business establishments, etc," submitted the government.