[BREAKING] Halt land acquisition for K-Rail: Central Government to Kerala High Court

The Central Government on Friday informed the Kerala High Court that it has serious concerns regarding the Silverline project of the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail) and suggested that land acquisition for the same be halted for the time being [State of Kerala represented by the Additional Chief Secretary to the Government & Ors. v Muralikrishnan & Ors.].A statement was filed by Assistant Solicitor General of India S Manu on behalf of the Central Government and the Railway Board in this regard.In its response, the Central government said that it has received several representations raising concerns regarding acquisition of cultivable land, houses, businesses and religious structures. "Many representations are being received against this project in the Ministry. Major issues raised are ruining of thousands of hectares of cultivable land, about 20,000 houses, shops and business establishments etc. It is also pointed that Silver Line will be an obstacle for the expansion of Angamaly railway station which operates railway sidings for Food Corporation of India. It is also highlighted in the representations that the proposed alignment will also lead to demolishing of many religious structures," the statement read.Therefore, the Centre advised that "the proceedings of land acquisition for this project shall be stopped at this stage, as even feasibility of the present alignment has not been agreed by the Ministry of Railways"..The Court was considering a group of appeals filed by the State Government against the interim order of a single-judge which had stayed all survey activities relating to the project.A Division Bench of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly recorded the statement of the Centre and State governments and reserved the appeals for orders. .K- Rail, a Joint Venture Company was created with the object of undertaking project development works for several projects, including conducting surveys, preparation of Detailed Project Report and getting requisite approvals, processing for sanctioning of identified projects and implementation of the sanctioned project.Silverline project was identified by the K- Rail for development of a 529.45 km high speed rail corridor connecting the State's northern most and southern most districts (Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram). The project is expected to cost the public exchequer ₹63,940.67 crores..The appeals were against an interim order of the Court in a group of petitions which had been filed seeking to stop the process of laying survey stones and all pre-investment activities including land acquisition for the projectThe Court had during one of the previous hearing, prima facie found merit in the contentions raised by the petitioners and ordered that until the case is heard next, the survey stones shall be laid only as per the Kerala Survey and Boundaries Act, 1961 (the Act) or the Kerala Survey and Boundaries Rules, 1964 (the Rules) and only by the Authority, who are competent to do so. .The Centre had previously 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. As of now, only an in-principle nod has been given, the Centre had said. .Today, the Centre said that the financial viability of the project is also questionable."Since Ministry of Railways is a joint venture partner in K-Rail, debt-component of ₹33,700 crore will finally come on the Ministry of Railways as debt servicing , which is not possible with mainly passenger traffic. This will also be examined and firmed after finalisation of technical parameters", the Centre said in its statement to the Court.