SilverLine approval only after studying techno-economic viability report: Centre

Congress member Hibi Eden claimed in the Lok Sabha during question hour on Wednesday that there was huge resentment against the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail line project in Kerala and urged the Centre to consider the environmental and financial issues carefully before granting its final sanction. Another Congress member Benny Behanan claimed that the project was being implemented by the Kerala government without getting a final sanction from the Centre. CPI(M) member A. M. Ariff countered the Congress members contending that the resounding mandate for the CPI(M) in the Assembly elections was a public approval for the 530-km project linking Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod by a north-south corridor and rejected the claims of resentment against it. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the final approval for the project will depend on the techno-economic viability and pointed out that ‘Metroman’ E. Sreedharan too had voiced concern about the technical feasibility of the project. Mr. Ariff urged the Minister not to believe Mr. Sreedharan’s ‘verbal talk’ and take a look at the detailed project report on SilverLine prepared by the Kerala government. A bemused Mr. Vaishnaw said that he had given a clear answer that the project will be approved only after studying the techno-economic viability report. The Kerala Rail Development Corporation (KRDC) had submitted the detailed project report (DPR) for the project for approval. Sufficient details for technical feasibility were not available in the DPR. “The KRDC has been advised to provide detailed technical documents such as alignment plan, particulars of railway land and private land, crossings over the existing railway network, duly depicting affected railway asset through zonal railway after site verification for detailed examination of the project and to arrive at conclusion about the feasibility of the project,” the Minister said. “The project is not yet sanctioned. Approval of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs will be required as the project cost is more than ₹1,000 crore,” he said.