Despite strong objections from the opposition political parties including the BJP, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give nod for the Silver Line semi high-speed rail project.
The 530 kilometre long project with an estimated cost of Rs. 64,000 crore is aimed at reducing the travel time from Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasargod in the north to less than four hours. The railway ministry refused to sanction the project considering the huge fiscal obligation. Therefore, the Chief Minister has taken up the matter with the Prime Minister.
Vijayan said in the letter to the Prime Minister that Kerala government would meet the land acquisition cost of Rs. 13,700 crore and any liability caused by default in external borrowings.
The opposition party Congress-led United Democratic Front and the BJP had announced that the project would be opposed at any cost. Environmentalists and people facing eviction are also up in arms against the project.
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