The Union government has attributed delays in key rail infrastructure projects in Kerala to the state government’s slow pace of land acquisition.
Responding to an unstarred question raised by Congress MP Adv. Dean Kuriakose regarding the Angamali-Sabarimala railway line, Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the project could not progress due to a lack of support from the Kerala government.
The Angamali-Sabarimala via Erumeli new line project was sanctioned in 1997-98. Work commenced on the Angamali-Kaladi section (7 km) and preliminary work on the Kaladi-Perumbavoor section (10 km). However, further progress on the project was stalled. The minister attributed the delays to protests by the local population against land acquisition and the alignment of the line, court cases filed against the project, and a lack of support from the state government.
The minister also stated that the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL) updated the estimated cost of the Sabari rail project to ₹3,801 crore and submitted it to the Kerala government in December 2023 for approval and confirmation of cost-sharing.
“The Government of Kerala communicated its willingness to share the project cost, with certain conditions, in August 2024,” the minister said, adding that the Railways requested the state to provide unconditional consent for cost-sharing and to sign a tripartite MoU with the Ministry of Railways and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the project.
The minister further noted that a budget allocation of ₹3,011 crore has been made for infrastructure projects in Kerala for the 2024-25 financial year. The minister noted that there has been an eight-fold increase in budget allocation compared to 2009-2014.
However, despite the significant increase in funding, the pace of execution depends on expedited land acquisition.
According to the Union government, a total of 475 hectares of land is required for rail projects in Kerala, but the state government has so far acquired only 64 hectares (13 percent). The Union minister also highlighted that the Railways had deposited ₹2,111.83 crore with the Kerala government for land acquisition.
