KOCHI: The state government on Tuesday informed the Kerala High Court that laying of survey stones has been dispensed with and the social impact assessment survey for the SilverLine project is being conducted through digital methods such as geotagging wherever people object to laying stones. Recording this, Justice Devan Ramachandran observed that the endeavour of this court through this litigation has now begun to bear fruit even without directions being issued.
The government made the submission when a writ petition challenging the laying of big survey stones without issuing prior notices to landowners came up for hearing. When the government said it does not propose to lay stones without the the landowners’ permission, the judge observed that this was what the court had been telling it throughout. The government had then tried to dismiss the opposition insinuating certain other motives. In fact, the court was trying to put the government on the right track.
When the court had asked earlier, the government said the landowners would not be issued notices before undertaking the survey. The court had then said the officials walking into a property of a landowner for laying stones without giving him/her prior notice was disheartening. The government had to take into confidence the people before implementing any project.
The letter dated April 2, 2022, issued by the director of survey permitted the laying of larger survey stones notwithstanding the court’s interim order. The prima facie impropriety of this order was that it was issued without seeking the court’s permission. The order seems to have been issued based on a letter from Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL) seeking permission to install larger stones. It was issued after knowing fully well the interdiction ordered by the court. These issues will have to be clarified by the officers concerned.
The court directed KRDCL and the director of survey to explain why they had issued letters and orders for conducting the survey by laying stones without the court’s permission when its interim order restraining the survey remained in force.
The court added, “Initially, this court did not interdict the survey. But, subsequently on seeing the social anarchy being created on account of the frenetic opposition of certain individuals against the stones being laid in their properties without individual notice being issued to them, this court had no other option but to interdict (it),” observed the court.
There were several questions as to when the survey began and whether it was done only after the notification under Section 4 (1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act had been issued. In the changed circumstances, the court will require clarification on this aspect.
The court also observed that initially, the Union government was in favour of the project. But it started rethinking on approval after witnessing the huge protests from several corners. The court pointed out that no project could be implemented without facing opposition because the state is densely populated. Citing the implementation of the metro rail project, the acquisition of land was completed without any huge protest. The government could convince the public that the project was the need of the hour.
The court will hear the matter on June 2.
K-RAIL INVITES TENDERS FOR RAILWAY LAND SURVEY
T’Puram: The K-Rail Corporation has invited tenders from surveyors to conduct GPS-based surveys on railway land in six districts -- Kottayam, Ernakulam, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod for the SilverLine project. Two tenders were invited on Tuesday for conducting railway land boundary survey using DGPS. As per the tender, survey in Kannur and Kasaragod districts will cover 79 km, while the survey in the remaining four districts will cover 99 km. The GPS survey will be conducted along the existing railway boundary stones and railway assets, including buildings, structures and signal boxes using DGPS instruments at locations where the proposed SilverLine alignment runs close to the existing railway lines.