VD Satheesan Govt Pulls Plug on Kerala’s SilverLine Project

Kerala scraps controversial SilverLine project after massive public protests against the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod rail corridor. Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan on Wednesday announced that the state government has officially dropped the controversial SilverLine rail project connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod. The project, introduced by the previous LDF government as a major infrastructure plan, had faced strong protests from the public. Speaking to reporters after the cabinet meeting, Satheesan said the government has ordered the removal of all survey stones placed for the project and confirmed that all land acquisition procedures linked to the K-Rail project have been cancelled. The Chief Minister also said the government will take steps to withdraw cases filed against people who protested against the SilverLine project, after examining the details of each case. The Congress party had played a major role in leading protests against the semi high-speed rail project across Kerala. The SilverLine project was announced by the Pinarayi Vijayan government in 2019 as a semi high-speed rail corridor from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod. The government said the project would improve travel across Kerala and boost development. But the project faced huge protests from people and opposition parties. The main issue was land acquisition, as large areas of land in populated regions had to be taken for the railway line. Many families feared displacement and loss of homes. There were also concerns about the project’s high cost, estimated at around Rs 64,000 crore. Critics warned that depending heavily on foreign loans could create a major financial burden for the state. The project also needed approval from the Central government and the Railway Ministry because it was planned as a separate rail network. Since the approvals did not come, the project could not move ahead and was later put on hold. The Kerala government, however, maintained that the project was important to reduce traffic congestion, improve train speed and provide faster travel across the state. Now that the UDF govt has decided to terminate the project, people who feared that they will loose homes are happy and have come in support of the VDS govt. Visit Times Now for the Latest news, India News, and breaking stories from around the World. Latest News Arpitha Ajayakumar author I’m Arpitha Ajayakumar, Senior reporter for times Network. Born in Kerala but being from a defence family, brought up in different parts of India. My ... View More News India News End of Article