No approval granted for SilverLine project: Railways tells Kerala HC

Kochi (Kerala) [India], July 26 : The Railway Board on Tuesday clarified to the Kerala High Court that it has not granted any approval for the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail project of the Kerala government.
The clarification came in a statement after the Court asked the Centre to disclose if the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) has been instructed by the Railway Board not to become a part of the ongoing Social Impact Assessment (SIA) for the SilverLine Project.
"All steps taken in pursuance of land acquisition for the project are premature. The board has neither approved nor concurred with the SIA and that the survey conducted by the State government was under the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act. Under the Act, when a State is conducting an SIA, the Centre has no role in it. However, if the KRDCL, being a company, is involved in the SIA and spending its funds for the purpose, such involvement and expenditure will be at its own risk and responsibility," the statement submitted by Assistant Solicitor General (ASG) S Manu on the behalf of the Railway Board in the Kerala HC read.
The High Court asked the Centre regarding the aforesaid while considering a batch of pleas challenging the laying of large survey stones on private land without issuing prior notices to the concerned individuals.
The semi-high-speed rail project, which is known as the Silverline Project, aims to connect Kasaragod in the north to Thiruvananthapuram in the south minimizing a twelve-hour long distance to four hours. It was started by the Pinarayi Vijayan government during its second term.
The Kerala government is regularly facing attacks by the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party who had protested against the project citing feasibility reasons.