Will CPM dictate terms to Sasthra Sahitya Parishad on SilverLine?
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Palakkad: For decades the leftist science promotion outfit Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) has been very influential in championing environmental initiatives and opposing development projects that can harm Nature. But its stand on the SilverLine railway project piloted by the CPM-led Left Democratic Front Government of Kerala in the coming days needs to be eagerly watched. Suspense is in store for the intelligentsia in Kerala vis-a-vis the stand of the outfit which touts itself as a people's science movement.
Will Parishad stick to its earlier position that the SilverLine project is undemocratic and it is meant to cater only to the affluent class or will it act as per the directive of the CPM and end its opposition to the project once for all?
A vast section of the leaders and rank and file of the Parishad is thoroughly disgusted with the organisation for not taking a strong stand against the project. It is alleged that the Parishad leadership is wilting under political pressure and is confused over planning next moves. Though the leadership claims that the Parishad will go ahead with its independent stand on the issue, no such message has gone down to the grassroots from the top brass.
Actually, now is the apt time for the Parishad to organise further discussions on the side-effects of the project billed as the biggest infrastructure project in Kerala's history. The proposed 530-km dedicated rail corridor to run semi high-speed trains is expected to reduce the travel time between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod to around four hours.
It was on December 24 that the State leadership of the Parishad released a handout, explaining the 'real facts' on the general project issues, especially regarding its adverse environmental impact.
RVG Menon, a widely respected Parishad leader and an environment expert, came up with certain pertinent questions on the project two months ago. Later, he asked some valid scientific queries to the State Government in one of his articles on the project. But the K-Rail authorities gave political answers to it, making the whole exercise futile.
'Project was forced upon people'
The main points that emerged at the various discussions held under the initiative of the Parishad was that it was a project forced upon on the people from the top level as it was planned without the knowledge of the people's representatives and the Planning Board, and without holding public discussions.
Serious observations were also made whether the State needed such a project when it was passing through such a deep socio-economic crisis in the COVID-19 era. A general consensus emerged at such meetings that the government should adopt an approach that would effectively address climate change issues and the acute problems faced by the middle class and the lower strata of society.
It also emerged at the discussions that forcefully thrusting the SilverLine Project on the State and the people would lead to the creation of more social issues at a time when we are clueless on how long the adverse social impact of the COVID-19 as a pandemic would last.
The non-CPM members of the Parishad reportedly put forward a factual and scientific assessment that the projects having a long-term vision to take care the needs of people in areas such as healthcare, social welfare and livelihood should be designed as COVID-19 waves are likely to repeat. They pointed out that the socio-economic situation in the State became worse during the Second Wave of the pandemic in 2021.
According to a statement issued earlier by the Parishad, the SilverLine project is going to be beneficial to a small section of society though the adverse environmental and social effects will have to be borne by lakhs of ordinary people.
The negative impact of the work and even the activities to make available material at the construction sites will sustain for a long period.
What had irked the CPM most was the view of the Parishad that the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail), which is executing the project, is concerned about facilitating speedy travel for the rich class at the cost of existing ordinary Railway commuters.
The Parishad also raised the question of for whom the SilverLine project is designed and at whose cost it is done. The leadership made it clear that the Parishad believed in ensuring environmentally sustainable development of Kerala. It also sought for making public all the documents related to the project such as detailed project report (DPR), technical feasibility report and environment impact report.
CPM accused of browbeating Parishad
But what happened to the Parishad later was very intriguing. There were rumours that some political directives were given by the CPM to the Parishad on how to give statements on the issue in future. What is to be seen is whether the CPM loyalists in the Parishad would dictate terms on the issue.
A section of the leadership is saying that the Parishad has got an indirect signal from the CPM State secretariat to stop berating the project. A vast section of the Parishad workers believe this to be true since no comment on the issue has been made by the Parishad leadership after the statement given against the project two months ago.
The Parishad had also published a handbook named "Kerala's transport and K-Rail". As per the usual practice of the organisation, the mouthpiece of the organisation should have dealt with the issue for enabling the members to hold further discussions. Moreover, the stand on the K-Rail was not reported at the district and zonal meetings of the organisation.
A majority of the members, who firmly believe in the power of social synthesis of science, are having strong disagreement over the attitude of the Parishad leaders on the K-Rail project. Years have gone by since Berlin Wall was demolished and the two Germanies got united. The Parishad members are asking why should we raise a new wall in the form of SilverLine when the world is witnessing the demolition of walls everywhere. They argue that it should be opposed even if the wall is in the form of a railway line.
The Parishad has had the great tradition of constantly reminding the public about where did they stand on big development projects which questioned even the very existence of Nature and human beings and then acting as a corrective force for the good of the public.
The ordinary and selfless workers of the Parishad are saying in unison that the organisation should take a factual and scientific stand on the K-Rail project so as to address the moot question raised by the civil society about whom it is siding with — the common man or the affluent sections of society?