Land acquisition delay impacting execution of important projects in Kerala: Railway Ministry

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, March 12, 2025: Even as the fund allocation for railway projects in Kerala has increased multifold over the years, the execution of important projects falling fully or partly in the state are held up due to delays in land acquisition, the Railway Ministry informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, urging the state to support the process.

The House was informed that as against 476 hectares of land needed for various railway projects in Kerala, only 13 per cent (66 hectares) is acquired while 410 hectares is yet to be acquired.

The Ministry said the railway acquires the land through the state government and the completion of a railway project is dependent on land acquisition.

“However, execution of important infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Kerala are held up due to delay in land acquisition…Government of India is geared up to execute projects, however success depends upon the support of the Government of Kerala. Railways has deposited Rs 2,111.83 crore for land acquisition for ongoing projects to Government of Kerala," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in the written reply.

The Minister also said that the “support of the Government of Kerala is needed to expedite the land acquisition".

The completion of any Railway project depends on various factors, the Ministry said, listing quick land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of the forest department, deposition of cost share by State Government in cost-sharing projects, priority of projects, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of the area, law and order situation in the area of project(s) site, and number of working months in a year for a particular project site due to climate conditions.

Congress MPs Benny Behanan and Dean Kuriakose had asked the Ministry about the Angamaly–Sabarimala (Sabari) railway project and the reason for its delay.

The Ministry explained that the Angamaly-Sabarimala via Erumeli new line project was sanctioned in 1997-98 and work on Angamaly-Kaladi (7 km) and long lead works on Kaladi-Perumbavoor (10 km) was taken up.

“However, further works on this project could not be taken forward due to protests by local people against land acquisition and fixing of alignment of the line, court cases filed against the project and inadequate support from the State Government of Kerala," the Minister’s response said.

The estimated cost of the project has been updated by Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL) at Rs 3,801 crore and submitted to the Government of Kerala in December 2023 for the acceptance of the estimate and willingness to share the cost of the project.

“The Government of Kerala has communicated their willingness to share the cost of the project with certain conditions in August 2024. The Government of Kerala has been requested by Railways to submit unconditional consent for sharing the cost. The Government of Kerala has also been requested to enter into a tripartite MoU among State Government of Kerala, Ministry of Railways and RBI for the project. An outlay of Rs 55 crore has been provided for Financial Year 2024-25," the Ministry said.

In a separate reply to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, the Ministry said that for the 111 km Angamali-Sabarimala new line, 416 hectare (ha) of land is needed but only 24.4 ha has been acquired and 391 ha is pending.

Similarly, the Ministry also listed other projects that are impacted due to delay in land acquiring. For the 8 km Ernakulam–Kumbalam Patch Doubling, 4.2 ha is needed and only 1.59 has been acquired. The 87 km Trivandrum – Kanyakumari Doubling is also awaiting acquisition of 8 ha land (40.15 ha needed). No land has been acquired for the 10 km Shoranur–Vallathol Doubling project.