SilverLine Project: Kerala High Court Seeks State Response On Contempt Plea Challenging Land Acquisition Without Centre's Sanction

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday sought the response of the State and the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (K-Rail) in a petition seeking to initiate contempt proceedings against K-Rail for allegedly breaching its assurance not to proceed with the Silver Line project before obtaining sanction from the Centre.

Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V was hearing a contempt petition filed by a group of petitioners challenging the land acquisition proceedings initiated by the K-Rail authorities despite Union's sanction for the project still pending. The plea was filed through Advocates K.Mohanakannan and H. Praveen. 

The State had previously assured the Court that it would proceed with the land acquisition proceedings for the project only after getting concurrence from the Centre and the Railway Board and other statutory authorities. While disposing of the petitions challenging the land acquisition, the Court had recorded this submission.

In the contempt plea, the petitioners submitted that in total disregard of the undertaking given to the Court, K-Rail has invited a tender for an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study, which has to be completed by January 2023.

The petitioners alleged that the Government was being hasty and that it was already in the process of acquiring land without obtaining the necessary clearances from the Central Government, the Railway Board and the other statutory bodies. They contended that the Government had taken up a project that incurs huge expenses which the State with its meagre resources will not be able to afford.

The project is likely to be dropped midway and if by the time, the Government takes steps to acquire their valuable property, it would result in grave hardship and loss. A large extent of paddy land and wetland will have to be converted resulting in grave adverse consequences to the environment, the plea reads.

It was further pointed out that according to the report furnished by NITI Aayog, the fundamental concept of the Silverline project is flawed and the cost estimated is clearly a huge underestimation. The proposal of the State to avail huge loans from the ADB and other foreign banks have been deprecated. The Southern Railway has also analysed the Detailed Project Report and have marked several deficiencies and mistakes in the present alignment and have asked the respondents to change the same if they want the project to go forward, they argued.

The Court admitted the plea, sought the response of the concerned authorities and posted the matter to be taken up after two weeks.

What is the Silver Line Project?

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.

Often referred to as Kerala's 'ambitious' proposal, it 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: M.T Thomas v. V.P Joy