BJP delegation to call on union railway minister seeking an alternative to K Rail

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A BJP delegation is planning to call on Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav in the presence of Minister of State V Muraleedharan seeking an alternative project to LDF's dream project Silver Line. This is after the central government clarified that a detailed inspection is needed on K Rail. The possibilities of railway development in Kerala as an alternative to the Silver Line will be discussed in the meeting.

The Kerala High Court had the other day clarified that the Silver Line project is a good idea but it should not be implemented in this way. The government showed unnecessary haste to implement the scheme. The government should act according to the constitution with the support of the people. Justice Devan Ramachandran said the government and K Rail should think how a good project ended up in this situation. The court said the central government has not rejected or accepted the social impact study and the former is washing its hands.

The union railway minister had the other day informed the Parliament that the DPR submitted by Kerala for Silver Line did not contain enough information. The minister also said that though the details were demanded from K Rail, they have not provided it yet.

Meantime, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a press conference yesterday said the project can be implemented only with the permission of the Centre. If Kerala could implement it, it would have been implemented earlier itself. Kerala requests center to change their stance and give approval to the project. Many see this as LDF's project. The chief minister said that it will be good for the state if realized that this is a project for the better future of Kerala.