SilverLine, the semi-high-speed rail, has become a talking point in Kerala — a state with a high population density of 880 persons per square kilometre compared to the Indian average of 382. Its cities like Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram teem with people, focusing on the extreme pressure on the land surface. Is SilverLine a worthwhile “development” project for a land-hungry state?
The state government plans to acquire 1,221 hectares of land for the project. This is no small parcel, given the high man-to-land ratio. The most disturbing question would be the tracking of the railway line. Of the 529.45 km that the rail corridor would cover, a 393-km corridor, that is 74.23%, would be through Kuttanad district, the “rice bowl” or granary of Kerala.
Keralites are principally rice-eaters. The state does not produce even 25% of its internal rice requirement, the rest being imported from the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh/Telangana or from Punjab. The fate of Kuttanad — which gets easily flooded during monsoon making paddy cultivation extremely difficult — will get further aggravated because of the embankments that the tracks would be covered with. This is because high-concrete or masonry walls will have to be provided to prevent trespassing of people and animals along the rail corridor. Fencing will not help as it can be violated easily. Providing solid walls on either side of the track will be a certain environmental disaster as it will block natural drainage. This will have an adverse impact on rice production in the state because of flooding and the submergence of Kuttanad paddy fields, consequently affecting the crop. Also, the concrete walls certainly will be an eyesore.
Further, about 800 rail overbridges or underbridges will have to be constructed, each costing in excess of Rs 20 crore, totalling Rs 16,000 crore, which will further inflate the total budget for the project at Rs 63,940 crore. This will also entail additional land acquisition which has not been foreseen, nor talked about, apart from the 1,221 ha, as per the current admission of the government.
The rehabilitation of the thousands of families uprooted will pose huge problems. Where is the land for the purpose? How many new roads, bridges and other infrastructure are required to meet these needs? Can the government ensure these? In fact, it may lead to a mini Narmada Bachao Andolan.
The SilverLine fare is fixed at Rs 2.75/km, which means a trip from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram will cost Rs 1,455. But it is not known whether this fare is for business class or standard class passengers. In north Malabar, the travel time between Kasargod and Kozhikode is about 4.48 hours. SilverLine might make it in about an hour and a half. But the moot question is the fare, and therein lies the rub. For this trip, a SilverLine passenger would end up paying Rs 500 while an AC class travel for the same distance costs only a third of this amount. Will the saving in time match the excess fare paid? Or is it just a very costly trip, which no ordinary Keralite can afford?
Higher speed equates to higher cost. SilverLine is expected to run at a speed of 200 km/hour. The faster the speed, the more capital-intensive the project, and the less accessible it is for ordinary people.
Inevitable debt trap
The Kerala government plans to avail an interest-free loan from Japan from where the technology emanates. Worryingly, Japanese inflation is surging, which rose from -0.4 in July 2021 to +0.6 in October 2021, and the Yen has appreciated by 182%. When the loan is paid after several years, Kerala would end up paying an enormous sum of money to Japan, forfeiting the advantage of an “interest-free” loan. In substance, the present government would be dragging its successor to an inevitable debt trap.
In the last three successive years, Kerala has seen abnormal monsoon and floods because of climate change caused by a plethora of factors like global warming, quarrying, unscientific construction of buildings on sloping lands etc. The installation of the SilverLine rail track will compound these problems, and the project flies in the face of climate resilience.
SilverLine might end up as a white elephant, having inflicted irremediable ecological, environmental and financial damage to Kerala and its people.
There is an unmistakable strain of stubbornness on the part of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in his utterances concerning the project. It would be a sad day for Kerala if, at the end, the project turns out to be the Achilles Heel for the chief minister.
(The writer is former professor, The National Science Foundation, The Royal Society, Belgium)
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