Railway Minister's remarks on projects in Kerala politically motivated: CM Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 8 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the reasons given by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Lok Sabha for certain railway projects not being implemented in the state despite being sanctioned years ago are "politically motivated and misleading".

The railway minister had on July 24 said in the Lower House of Parliament that the Kerala government has not been very cooperative on railway projects and emphasised that a lot more can be done in the state provided there is government support for land acquisition.

His remarks came during Question Hour, while responding to supplementaries related to the proposed Angamaly-Sabarimala railway line project, which was sanctioned as far back as 27 years ago in 1997-98.

Hitting back at Vaishnaw, Vijayan said that the union minister's "response regarding the Angamaly-Sabarimala rail project was politically motivated and misleading".

He said that it was the Centre and railways' "apathy and complacency" that has stalled the project.

"This is nothing but an attempt to run away from discharging the railway’s responsibility. The Angamaly-Sabarimala railway line was announced in the 1997-98 Railway Budget, and the state has extended all possible support in this regard," the CM said.

Vijayan said that the alignment for the project was approved, and land acquisition for the 70-km stretch from Angamaly to Ramapuram had commenced.

"The state government had assured that it would bear 50 per cent of the project cost. It is the union government and the ministry of railways that have shown apathy by not moving forward with the project," he said, while responding to a query from reporters regarding Vaishnaw's remarks.

The CM further claimed that due to delays by the union government, there has been a significant increase in the cost estimate for the Sabarimala railway line.

"The initial estimate was Rs 2,815 crore, but the revised estimate has gone up to Rs 3,811 crore, an increase of 36 per cent. The Union Government now expects the state to bear this additional burden as well," he said.

Vijayan said that the state government was not opposed to any new projects, including the Chengannur-Pamba railway line, but the central government was yet to seek any details from Kerala about it.

"In the last budget, not only were no new projects announced for Kerala, but even existing projects like the Thalassery-Nanjangud, Nilambur-Mysore, and Angamaly-Sabarimala railway lines were not allocated any funds," he said.

Slamming Vaishnaw's remarks, the CM said it was "inappropriate" to spread misinformation without implementing previously announced projects.

"The union railway minister stated in Parliament that Rs 2,125 crore was allocated for the Angamaly-Sabarimala railway line, but was not spent by the state. This statement is entirely false.

"The minister spoke in Parliament so as to suggest that the funds allocated for land acquisition across Kerala were specifically set aside for the Sabarimala rail line," he said.

Vijayan further claimed that for the railway line from Thiruvananthapuram to Parassala, 49.50 hectare were acquired and handed over to the Railways, and other procedures are ongoing.

Besides that, of the Rs 2,125 crore allocated by the Railways, Rs 1,823 crore has already been deposited for three projects, he added.

"It is clear who is responsible for the lack of progress on the Sabarimala rail line. The state has not been negligent or indifferent in this matter," he said.

Vijayan further said that as the CM, he had written to Vaishnaw requesting the revival of the Sabarimala railway line and the allocation of the necessary funds in the budget.

"I had raised this issue during a meeting with the railway minister in October 2021 as well. In June 2023, I sent a detailed letter requesting urgent intervention regarding various railway projects, including the Angamaly-Sabarimala line.

"After the new union government took office, the state sent another detailed letter to the union minister on June 21, 2024. Additionally, the chief secretary and the state’s special representative in Delhi have also sent letters on this matter," he said.

However, despite all these communications, there has been no positive response from the central government, he said.

"It is not only in this issue that Kerala has faced such a bad experience from the railways," he added.

According to Vaishnaw, further works on the Angamaly-Sabarimala line could not be taken forward due to protests by local people against land acquisition and fixing of alignment of the line, court cases filed against the project and inadequate support from the Kerala government.

He had also contended that a lot more can be done in Kerala if the "state government supports us".

The railways minister had also said that though fund allocation has increased manifold, the pace of execution of the project was dependent on expeditious land acquisition.

He highlighted that fund allocation for the railways in Kerala has increased substantially since 2014 and the average outlay stood at Rs 2,033 crore in 2023-24 compared to Rs 372 crore annually during 2009-14 period. PTI