THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The revival of the Sabari rail project, which was frozen by the Union Railway Ministry, will be delayed. This is because of the two conditions put forward by Kerala.

The first condition is that if the project materializes, the state government should be given half of the profits. The second condition put forward by the state is the implementation of a public-private partnership for the development of the stations. Although the sharing of profits is not generally accepted, the Railway Board is considering the conditions of Kerala.

Kerala Kaumudi had reported on December 23, 2019 that the project would be frozen. The frozen project began rolling on January 6 last year when Kerala agreed to bear half the cost of the project. The token amount (Rs. 1000) was also sanctioned in the union budget. The Sabari rail was included in Prime Minister's PRAGATI plan.

The project was put on hold as the land acquisition was not completed last March. In October 2019, the Center had also reminded that the project could be taken over once the land is available. If the land is provided, the state's spending will be reduced. 900 crore is required for the land. The remaining Rs 507 crore has to be paid in five years. The Railways had considered the allotment of land by Karnataka and others as their share.