Although K-Rail did not take part in the parallel debate organised by the Kerala State Janakeeya Prathirodha Samiti on Wednesday, it issued a statement refuting the claims made by Alok Kumar Verma, former Railways Chief Engineer, in the debate.
Mr. Verma said the NITI Aayog had estimated that the project would cost ₹1.3 lakh crore. But the Central government’s apex think-tank had not made any such estimation, a K-Rail release said.
Instead, it asked why the cost of the SilverLine project was less than the construction cost of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) and Metro Rail. All the questions raised by the NITI Aayog regarding the project had been answered precisely. It was after this, it had recommended foreign loans for the project, the release said.
A study by Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited (RITES), an engineering consultancy specialising in transport infrastructure under the Ministry of Railway, had also found that the estimate of ₹63,941 crore as per the detailed project report was practical and justifiable.
Similarly, all studies had been carried out using the latest technology. Terming that Mr. Verma was on a misleading campaign about the project, K-Rail said he should disclose which report stated that 93% of the alignment was on vulnerable land.
