The government on Sunday came under fire from the Opposition which accused it of using the social impact assessment (SIA) as a cover to go ahead with the land acquisition for the SilverLine semi-high-speed railway project.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan spotlighted a series of notifications stating that a survey would be carried out to acquire land for the project. He said the government was trying to hoodwink the people into believing that the laying of marker stones was for the SIA and had nothing to do with land acquisition.
“The Chief Minister has asserted that the project will be implemented at any cost, even before the SIA has been completed. That shows the SIA is nothing but a farce. Right from the beginning, the government has resorted to obfuscation and data fudging. The Chief Minister, his Cabinet colleagues and K-Rail are speaking in different voices on the project,” he told reporters in Kochi.
