Kerala High Court Asks Centre To Clarify Its Stand On K-Rail SilverLine Project

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday asked the Central government to make its stand clear regarding the K-Rail Silverline project while staying the process of laying boundary stones in violation of the Survey and Boundaries Act on the land identified for the project ahead of a social impact assessment. 

The Silver Line Project is a semi high-speed rail corridor connecting one end of the State to the other and was announced for the first time over 12 years ago by the LDF government then in power.

Justice Devan Ramachandran noted that although it is argued by the respondents that the project has been approved in principle, there was no clarity regarding the same from the Centre:

"Nobody knows what the position of the Central government is with regards to the project. I'm not saying surveys should not be conducted. But the Court cannot be kept in the dark like this." 

The Court also orally remarked that it was improper for one Counsel to appear for both the Union of India and the Ministry of Railways since there was a clear conflict of interest involved.  

"This is perhaps the biggest project the Kerala government has taken upon itself so far. Such a big project should not be implemented intimidating and threatening the people...All these cases are being filed because of the State's haste to implement the project. The law cannot be violated in its attempts to execute the scheme."

The same was recorded in the order:

"This Court deems it necessary to remind all stakeholders that if a project as mentioned by them is to be taken forward and which appears to be of proportions that are rather large - it has to be done implicitly as per the dictates of law and following every statutory prescription, which alone can give it any legitimacy in future."

The Court was adjudicating upon a couple of petitions filed through Advocate O.V Maniprasad alleging that the State government was going ahead with the project without completing the socio-environmental impact assessment.

It was argued that under the guise of placing survey marks, large concrete poles three or more feet in height, painted in yellow with the inscription 'K-RAIL', were being installed and that this was already been done in the case of at least one of the petitioners.

These structures impede the right of the owners to use their properties, which is never contemplated either under the Kerala Survey and Boundaries Act or the Kerala Survey and Boundaries Rules the petitioners contended as they sought for a stay on the process.

During a previous hearing, Special Government Pleader TB Hood submitted that going by Rule 3, the specification of the survey marks mentioned in the same will apply only in 'ordinary cases', which is to mean that the authorities can fix larger marks.

He, however, conceded that the inscription 'K-RAIL' on the survey marks is only for the purpose of identification and that final approval from the Railway Board is awaited, though they had given an in-principle concurrence for the project.

The Court was also told that demarcation now being done is only for the purpose of Social Impact Assessment, to be done after proper notification is issued under the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

Today, the Court asked K-rail what it proposes to do about the stones that have already been installed.

"I direct to the KRDCL to inform this Court what they propose to do with the 2834 stones, which they have already installed, which, prima facie, appears not to be in conformity with the specifications mentioned in the Rules," the order stated.

The matter will be taken up again on 20th January along with connected cases. 

Often referred to as Kerala's 'ambitious' proposal, the Silverline project has been denounced on several fronts; from environmentalists, party opponents as well as those in fear of being displaced from their land.

However, despite all opposition, the paperwork for the project, which is set to run through a total of 11 districts in the State, had started making progress in the past two years. If successful, the train can take you from one end to the other within a matter of four hours. Today this journey takes over 12 hours, by road or rail.

The Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail), a joint venture of Indian Railways and the state government, is to implement the project. According to K-rail, the cost of the project was estimated to be around 64,000 crores. Although its Detailed Project Report received a nod from the State cabinet, approval from the Centre is still pending.

The opening move in the project is land acquisition. The Silver Line project demands around 1,383 hectares to be completed, and out of this, a whopping 1,198 hectares are owned by private individuals.

The State has been hasty in acquiring land despite not receiving a complete sanction from the Union since foreign funding would only flow in if it has a reasonable stretch of land.

Case Title: Muralikrishnan v. State of Kerala

Click Here To Read/Download The Interim Order