KOCHI: The Angamaly-Erumely Sabari Rail project has hit a deadlock again, with the Centre and the state government not coming to an agreement regarding the funds.
Things seemed to get on track when a team from the Railway Ministry, comprising officials from the Railway Board, arrived in the state capital towards the end of July to hold discussions with the representatives of the state government to iron out the technicalities associated with the project.
It was hoped that the land acquisition would begin soon. However, things have gone back to square one, as is evident from the statement made by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Lok Sabha, who blamed the state government for delaying the land acquisition process. He was replying to queries raised by MP Hibi Eden.
The Union minister said, “The project was sanctioned in 1997-98. Work on Angamaly-Kalady (7 km) and long lead works on Kalady-Perumbavoor (10 km) were taken up. However, further works on this project could not be taken forward due to protests by local people against land acquisition and fixing of the alignment of the line, court cases filed against the project, and inadequate support from the state government.” He pointed out that the estimated cost of the project has been updated to Rs 3,801 crore and submitted to the state government in December 2023.
He added that in August 2024, the state government communicated their conditional consent. “The state government has been requested by the Railways to submit unconditional consent for sharing the cost. The state government had also been requested to enter into a tripartite MoU among itself, the Ministry of Railways, and the RBI for the project. However, the state government, in a memorandum submitted on June 3, 2025, notified that it didn’t agree with the tripartite agreement,” he said.
The Union minister said in a recent meeting with the Chief Minister of Kerala, the state government has been requested to acquire land using their share of 50% of the project cost. “Once the land is acquired, work can proceed,” he added.
However, K V Thomas, Kerala’s special representative in New Delhi, blamed the Central government for playing politics. “The Centre is more interested in pursuing the Chengannur-Pampa elevated rail project. We are not against the project, but it should not happen at the cost of the Angamaly-Erumely Sabari Rail project.
Though the state government had proposed realising the funds for its share of the project cost through KIIFB, the Centre wants to include the amount in the total borrowing limit of the state. That can’t be agreed!” he added.