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K-Rail Silverline project not formally approved yet: Central government informs Kerala HC

Assistant Solicitor General of India S Manu on Thursday informed the Court that a final decision with respect to the project has not yet been taken and that its further consideration is possible only after the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is properly examined, financial viability assessed and appraised by NITI Aayog and Ministry of Finance.

K-Rail Silverline project not formally approved yet: Central government informs Kerala HC-dnm
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Thiruvananthapuram, First Published Jan 20, 2022, 8:52 PM IST

The Central government on Thursday informed the Kerala High Court that it has not yet formally approved the K-Rail (Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited) Silverline Project. Justice Devan Ramachandran had previously asked the Central government to clarify its stance on the project and whether it had been formally approved or had only received an in-principle nod, Bar and Bench reported.

Assistant Solicitor General of India S Manu on Thursday informed the Court that a final decision with respect to the project has not yet been taken and that its further consideration is possible only after the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is properly examined, financial viability assessed and apprised by NITI Aayog and Ministry of Finance.

According to Bar and Bench report, the Court recorded that the DPR has been placed by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) before the Railway Board and that the State has been advised by the Board to provide detailed technical documents, such as 'alignment plan, particulars of railway land and private land, crossing over existing railway network, duly depicting affected railway assets through Zonal Railway for detailed examination of the project', so as to arrive at a conclusion.

The Court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the steps taken by the State in relation to the project and seeking to restrain all pre-investment activities including land acquisition.

K-Rail, Kerala Rail Development Corporation, is a joint venture company of Government of Kerala and Ministry of Railways for the infrastructure development of railways in Kerala. K-Rail undertakes project development works for an identified basket of projects, which will inter-alia include surveys, preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) and getting requisite approvals, processing for sanctioning of identified projects and implementation of the sanctioned project.

The 529.45 km SilverLine corridor connecting Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram, with an operating speed of 200kmph, eases the transport between North and South ends of the state and reduces the total travel time to less than 4 hours, compared with the present 10 to 12 hours. The intermediate stations include Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kochi Airport, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur.

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