Kerala’s SilverLine: What is this controversial project? Why it is facing protests? - All you need to know

(Credits: Keralarail.com)

New Delhi: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (March 24, 2022). Kerala CM is likely to discuss SilverLine project, which is facing a lot of backlash in the southern state, with the prime minister. 

The meeting comes just a day after the Kerala Chief Minister informed that the land acquisition process for the Kochi-Bangalore Industrial Corridor, a leap forward in the industrial sector of Kerala, is progressing rapidly. The first major protest happened in Kottayam`s Madampally on March 18.

What is SilverLine project? 

The SilverLine project is an ambitious project of the Kerala government led by CM Pinarayi Vijayan. The 529-km SilverLine railway project will link Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasaragod in north Kerala, covering 11 districts through 11 stations. The journey between two stations is expected to take four hours, whereas it currently takes 12 hours to reach from one end to another.

It is also being opposed by the opposition Congress-led UDF, which has been alleging that the project is "unscientific and impractical" and will put a huge financial burden on the state. 

Where does the SilverLine project stand now?

Earlier, this month kerala CM said that Left Democratic Front (LDF) led Kerala government will implement the SilverLine project while assuring that the state government would pay four times the prevailing market prices as compensation for acquiring land.

"The LDF government will implement the SilverLine project. There are attempts to mislead people. It is natural that people whose land is being acquired for the project will be disappointed. But I want to tell you that the government will pay four times the market price as compensation," said Vijayan.

"Out of 2242 acres of land identified, the acquisition of 87 per cent is expected to be completed by May 2022," he said.

Why are there protests against the SilverLine project?

Many opposition parties, including Congress, BJP and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), are protesting against the project raising environmental issues.

Union Minister V Muraleedharan claimed that the rail project will be a disaster and will not help the state in any way. "The project will displace 30,000 families in Kerala," the Minister said. 

The minister also stated that the government of Kerala has not done any study on the project and it is unviable. He also said that SilverLine project will be an ecological disaster as it is unscientifically planned. 

The Opposition had also submitted a petition signed by 17 MPs from the state which said that the SilverLine project was an “astronomical scam in the making” and would sink the state further into debt. The petition highlighted that over 30,000 families will be displaced due to the project. 

A forum of ecology experts, Kerala Paristhiti Aikya Vedi has urged the government to abandon the project and explore sustainable solutions.

A samiti also alleged that the project would cause great environmental harm as the building of embankments on either side of the major portion of the line will block natural drainage and cause floods during heavy rains. 

Renowned Indian ecologist professor Madhav Gadgil said, “Poor people will have to suffer the consequences of all this. The voices of protest raised by people will not be in vain."