Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal on Thursday claimed that the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail corridor project had in-principle nod but attempts were being made to mislead the public by creating an impression that no such approvals existed.
Mr. Balagopal told reporters here that pre-investment activities related to the project had been taken up on the strength of the in-principle approval and joint discussions. Quoting letters from the Centre, Mr. Balagopal claimed that the in-principle approval was accorded in December 2019.
The process for obtaining the remaining approvals was on and they were expected soon. People in high positions should refrain from misrepresenting facts and misleading the people. In the reply given to Parliament on Wednesday, the Union government pointed out that the detailed project report (DPR) was under examination by the Ministry of Railways, he said.
“The letter reads, ‘Sufficient details for technical feasibility are not available in the DPR. Therefore Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (K-Rail) has been advised to provide detailed technical documents such as alignment, alignment plans, particularly of railway land and private land crossing over the existing railway network.’ It goes on to add that ‘Financial viability will also be examined and firming up after finalisation of technical parameters’,” Mr. Balagopal said.
A letter from the Centre in August 2019 stated that the proposal had been examined in the Ministry of Railways and ‘the competent authority has accorded in-principle approval for taking up pre-investment activities for the above-mentioned project’, he said.
A further letter from the Centre informed the State that at a meeting on October 9, 2020 it was decided that the project implementation agency (PIA) and the Kerala government may engage with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to move forward to finalise the designing of packages which would facilitate co-financing and, in the meanwhile, land acquisition and other clearances may be expedited.
''These are part of a process. It's quite evident that, ordinarily, such a project cannot move forward without an in-principle approval,'' Mr. Balagopal said, adding that the State government had the best interests of the people in mind.
