Centre asks Kerala to begin land acquisition for Rs 64,000-cr speed rail project

Union finance ministry has finally approved revised debt-fund raising plan for Rs 64,000-crore semi-high speed rail project connecting Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram with its rrn tip Kasaragod, a top state government official has said.

Japanese development ncy JICA h earlier committed to fund Rs 33,700 crore which was approved by Union finance ministry as well in 2019 but later JICA massively curtailed its exposure, following which Union finance ministry asked us to submit a revised debt raising plan which was sent shortly.

In a letter to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, dated January 5, Union finance minister Nirmala  Sitharaman asked Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail), dal implementation ncy, to expedite land acquisition for most ambitious project of state till date after obtaining necessary clearances, according to official.

Centre has also directed K-Rail to re-eng with Japan International Cooperative ncy (JICA) to finalise funding for Rs 63,941 crore semi high-speed rail Silver Line as it is named, connecting Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod and covering 529.45-km ride in 4 hrs as against over 12 hrs w. line will cover Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam/Kochi stretch in flat 90 minutes, as against over 4 hours w.

Under revised debt funding plan submitted and approved by Centre, Kerala has nearly halved JICA loan to USD 2.5 billion from USD 4.6 billion earlier. K-Rail is also seeking USD1 billion from Asian Development Bank, USD500 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and USD460 million from German development ncy KfW, K-Rail managing director V Ajith Kumar told PTI over weekend.

Kumar said Sitharaman's letter was reply to letter from Vijayan four-five months ago seeking approval for B loan for project and that asking us to 'begin land acquisition' can be construed as approving project but “technically speaking this is t final approval” from centre.

He also blamed clerical errors in revised plan for long delay because when JICA sought to nearly halve its exposure, "we h forgotten to remove original document approving Rs 33,700-crore funding from revised plan that seeks only half of it, along . with new plan. Union finance ministry officials saw only old document, hence asked us to resubmit a new proposal, which though was done alrey".

He furr said central funding will come from Rs 1,10,055-crore allocated for National Rail Plan-2030, of which Silverline is alrey a part.

state finance minister TM Thomas Isaac, while presenting budget last month, said state is “moving ahe with land acquisition for project after completing necessary environmental assessment and clearance next fiscal”. 530-km-long rail project needs 185 hectares of railway land and 1,198 hectares of private land.

Of estimated Rs 63,941-crore project cost, Rs 11,535 crore will be for overall compensation, of which Rs 6,100 crore for acquiring private land, Rs 975 crore for taking over railway land and Rs 4,460 crore to pay compensation to structures that suffer dam. Ar Rs 1,730 crore will be needed for resettlement and rehabilitation.

Centre will invest just Rs 3,000 crore in equity for project, of which Rs 975 crore for cost of railway land that will be shared for project wherever re is parallel alignment with existing mainlines, Kumar said, ding thus effective cost for railways is just about Rs 2,025 crore in Rs 64,000 crore project.

Silverline will run parallel to existing railhe from Kasaragod to Tirur in Malappuram district, while an alternative green-field alignment has been chosen for Tirur-Thiruvananthapuram stretch. 530-km line will have nine stops at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode, and Kannur, Kumar said.

project was first anunced in 2019 and is expected to cost Rs 1,457 for one-way ticket for whole length. Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail) is a joint venture between Railways and Kerala.

detailed project report was prepared by Paris-based consultants Systra and environment impact assessment has alrey been completed by city-based Centre for Development Studies for project is aimed to be completed within three years. government plans to develop a new service ro along railhe and to develop five new townships along its way.