Thiruvananthapuram: The State Government has so far spent Rs 51 crore for its ambitious SilverLine project, records reveal. A lion’s share of the amount is paid to project consultant Systra.

SilverLine is a joint venture between the Indian Railways and the State Government to create a 529.45-km rail corridor connecting Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod. It aims to reduce the travel time in this stretch to 4 hours at an operational speed of 200 km per hour. These trains are expected to cover the busy Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam stretch in 90 minutes, which at present takes more than four hours.

Expenses till October 2022

The Rs 51 crore expenditure has been revealed in RTI replies provided by the Revenue department and the K-Rail. The figures relate to the expenses incurred for the project till October 2022.

Though the LDF government continues to deny reports that it has shelved the Rs 64,000-crore project, it has abruptly stopped several of the implementing activities, including the laying of survey stones, and redeployed staff posted for conducting the social impact assessment study.

Systra, which prepared the detailed project plan for the rail corridor, was paid Rs 29.29 crore. The Revenue Department was handed over Rs 16.75 crore for deploying personnel for land acquisition, opening offices and extending transportation facilities. It also spent Rs 2 crore was spent for the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) aerial remote sensing survey done ahead of preparing the alignment.

The K-Rail, or the Kerala Rail Development Corporation which is tasked with constructing the semi-high-speed rail network, incurred Rs 23 lakh for the ridership forecast survey and Rs 14.6 lakh for the hydrographic-topographic survey. It spent Rs 75 lakh on soil testing and Rs 10 lakh on Geo Technical Investigation.

The rapid environmental impact study, done at the initial stage, cost Rs 10 lakh, and a further Rs 40 lakh for the detailed environmental impact assessment study held later. The expenses incurred for the social impact assessment study of the semi-high-speed rail project, which got stalled mid-way, are yet to come out.

Anxiety grips public

Anxiety has gripped people in areas falling under the SilverLine project's path after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared recently in the Assembly that the project has not been dropped.

People are worried about the uncertainty over whether the project would be implemented or not. They also do not give credence to the statement of the chief minister that there were no impediments to land transactions and pledging of lands for obtaining loans.

Reports that the project had been shelved after the officials connected with it were recalled until the Centre’s approval was received, had led to a lot of confusion among the people.

Meanwhile, the K-Rail Virudha Janakeeya Samiti (people’s forum against K-Rail) is planning to resume its agitation.