Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday met Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav in New Delhi to get the final approval for the 540 km long semi high speed railway Silverline.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s ambitious flagship plan seeks to reduce the travel time between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod from 16 hours to less than four hours.
In addition, Silverline is expected to open up the state’s greener areas to tourism and development, shorten its highways and reduce its carbon footprint.
Grant
Mr. Vijayan and Mr. Vaishnav reportedly discussed raising funds for the project from international financing agencies. The chief minister had earlier told the assembly that several agencies such as JICA, ADB, AIBK and KfW had promised low-interest and long-term loans for the project.
The state was expected to raise Rs 33,700 crore. However, some potential financiers of Silverline had sought a central government guarantee for their credit.
Mr Vijayan’s in-camera meeting with Mr Vaishnav gave rise to speculation that the central government, primarily the Central Railways, was working hard to provide such guarantees. Hence, the Center reportedly advised the state government to come up with alternative guarantee schemes.
total outlay
The government has pegged the total outlay of Silverline at ₹63,941 crore. The Centre’s stake is estimated at ₹2,150 crore. It has also provided 185 hectares of land worth ₹975 crore for Silverline. The state has to find out the remaining amount. According to a conservative estimate, land acquisition alone would cost the exchequer ₹13,362 crore. HUDCO, KIFFB and Railways will bear the cost. The government will also issue public equity to raise funds for Silverline. The Center has given in-principle approval for the project and has also cleared land acquisition.
BJP’s demand
BJP state president K. Surendran said the state government should stop pressurizing the Center to approve an economically and environmentally unviable project. He said Silverline was a quick plan, and it would push Kerala into irreparable debt. In addition, Silverline provided LDF to enable private miners to hollow out the Western Ghats on the pretext of giving granite for the project.
Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan had also opposed Silverline on the same grounds.
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