'Acquired 65% Of Land': Data Debunks Centre' Claim On Kerala's Railway Projects
Kerala: Days after Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw blamed the Kerala government for slow progress in a railway project worth 12,350 crore, claiming the state acquired only 13% of the required land for railway development, the data from the government has debunked the claim, stating the land acquisition crossed 65% of the requirement.
On Wednesday, Union Minister Vaishnaw had written to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, highlighting delays in land acquisition for several railway projects in the state. The letter said that the railway infrastructure projects worth Rs 12,350 crore are underway in Kerala, with the highest-ever budget allocation of Rs 3,011 crore for FY 2024-25. The minister then claimed that most railway projects were stalled due to the land acquisition delay.
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The minister also said that the Kerala government had acquired only 64 hectares of land out of the 470 hectares required for various railway projects, despite the Centre releasing Rs2,100 crore to facilitate the process.
Debunking the Centure’s claim, a state government officer said that the state government has already handled over 39.6627 hectares of land, noting that the actual demand was 60.1798 hectares, excluding the land required for a frozen project. The official added that the rest of the land was in the advanced stage of handing over. “So there is no delay as such from the party of the state government, said the officer,” The New Indian Express quotes.
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The railway minister had said that the Centre had requested 471 hectares of land for railway projects, including an additional 416 hectares of land required for the Angamali-Sabarimala railway line project. The Kerala railway minister on October 20 held a meeting with the district collectors and chief administrative officer of Railways to speed up the land acquisition related to the Angamali-Sabari project.
The government has said it acquired 33 of the 40 hectares required for the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari doubling from Rs 1,312 crore given by the Railways, according to the report.
