Holding that infrastructure development without ensuring financial and social security in the long term would prove detrimental to the interests of the State, the Nair Service Society (NSS) has urged the State government to take the people into confidence while implementing the SilverLine project.
In a statement here on Wednesday, NSS general secretary G. Sukumaran Nair said development merely for the sake of economic advancement and without a socio-cultural perspective would not ensure the welfare of people.
“It is true that a section of people will sustain losses while implementing mega projects. But at the same time, the protests raised by those who stand to lose their property and homes should not be overlooked,” said Mr. Nair.
Economic feasibility
He raised questions about the economic feasibility of the project by pointing out an estimate by the NITI Aayog that the actual project cost might go up to ₹1.25 lakh crore as against the government's claim of ₹64,000 crore.
Holding that the Kochi Metro Rail project had failed to bring down the number of vehicles on the road, he pointed out the repeated warnings of the project causing an environmental disaster as raised by the various scientific and environmental outfits.
“The scope of sustainable development includes not just bringing down the carbon emissions but the protection of ecology and biodiversity as well,” he added.
Raising apprehensions over the validity of arguments that the project will bring in large-scale industrial investment, he called for expansion of the existing health infrastructure network to avoid travel and ensure loss of time.
The services by government agencies and the modern health system must be available across the State, irrespective of the urban-rural differences . The government claims that SilverLine will further ease access to these services. “Why can’t the government then take up the expansion of district-level health infrastructure as an alternative model of development’,” he asked.
Urging the government to line up its priorities based on the economic scenario, the NSS clarified that it would not blindly oppose the project.
