The project with 22 stations was supposed to link 11 districts in the state and work as the backbone of the industrial and social infrastructure needed to be developed to secure its future
The decision of the United Democratic Front government in Kerala headed by new chief minister V.D. Satheesan to wind down Silver Line, the project to build a 520-km semi-high-speed rail corridor connecting the north and the south of the state, has come as the denouement to the protests held by the UDF against it while in Opposition. The LDF government which initiated it had been keeping it on the back burner for want of the Centre’s clearance. The UDF government has now made the formal announcement in line with its previous position and said the government will initiate a study for a more feasible plan.
The project with 22 stations was supposed to link 11 districts in the state and work as the backbone of the industrial and social infrastructure needed to be developed to secure its future. It would have opened up the northern part of Kerala to its infinite tourism potential and worked as a connector for its four international airports. Both commerce and industry would have been benefited.
The failure of the LDF government to convince the people about the advantages of the project was the reason behind the strong opposition it faced. The government’s highhandedness in planting the survey stones on private land under police protection was an act the people were not familiar with. The Union government’s participation in the project was too meagre — the cash-strapped state was to bear 90 per cent of the Rs 65,000-crore project. The Union government was not completely at fault in refusing permission to the project on the ground that its detailed project report was inadequate and it was technically and financially unviable.
The state is home to the most aspiring group of Indians, and the government will have to come up with a new project minus the flaws of the first to meet their demands. The Union government will also have to chip in with a larger share in the cost and make Kerala part of the high speed rail network it is building across the nation.
