Thiruvananthapuram, May 20: Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday announced that his government has scrapped the controversial SilverLine semi-high-speed rail project, ending the flagship infrastructure initiative of the previous LDF government led by Pinarayi Vijayan.
The anti-SilverLine agitation evolved into one of the fiercest mass mobilisations against the Vijayan government, helping the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) regain political ground in Kerala as protests over land acquisition, environmental concerns, and displacement galvanised public anger across the state.
“The Cabinet has decided to scrap the Thiruvananthapuram–Kasaragod semi-high-speed rail corridor project called SilverLine,” Satheesan said at the start of his press conference following a Cabinet meeting chaired by him.
The Left government’s 530-km SilverLine project, planned by K-Rail—a joint venture between the Kerala government and the Ministry of Railways—was expected to reduce travel time between the two ends of the state to just four hours.
Extensive protests against the project were held across the state, led by the Congress. Protesters uprooted and discarded many yellow markers associated with the project.
The CM said the decision was taken because the project had been abandoned and no transactions could be carried out regarding the lands notified for acquisition, which affected ordinary people.
As the state has abandoned the project, even the Central government did not grant approval, he said.
Therefore, all advertisements issued in connection with land acquisition for the project will be denotified, he added.
Regarding cases pending in various courts and police stations related to protests against the project, the Home Department will examine them and recommend withdrawal based on their nature, Satheesan said.
“The court will have to grant permission to withdraw them,” he added.
He further said the Revenue Department has been instructed to remove the yellow concrete markers placed at various locations as part of the land acquisition process for the project.
Satheesan said the UDF was not against a high-speed rail corridor, as long as it did not place a financial or environmental burden on Kerala.
“We opposed SilverLine because it did not even have a proper Detailed Project Report (DPR). Had it been implemented, it would have been an environmental disaster, as 30-foot-high embankments were planned for 300 km and 10-foot-high walls for another 200 km of the corridor,” he said.
“During monsoons, it would have turned into an environmental disaster. It was not a sustainable project,” he added.
He said the UDF concluded that the project was unviable after discussions with experts.
The CM said the previous LDF government had only to issue an order to formally denotify the project after abandoning it, but it failed to do so.
The UDF government’s decision was welcomed by those affected by the land acquisition process and by people who had opposed the project across the state.
They praised Satheesan and the government for the decision and expressed hope that they would continue working in the same manner.
Many women who participated in the protests shed tears of joy and were momentarily unable to express their feelings when reporters sought their reactions.
During the press conference, Satheesan also said the Cabinet had decided to extend the validity of the Public Service Commission (PSC) rank lists until November 30, as few appointments were made during the election period.
The validity of all rank lists expiring by August 31 will be extended until November 30, and instructions in this regard will be issued to the PSC, he said.
He noted that rank list validity is usually not extended, but this time, due to elections and related work, no appointments were made, which led to the decision.
“The lack of appointments disappointed many young people and caused difficulties for them,” Satheesan said.
He also referred to the UDF manifesto and said the promises would be distributed among various departments for implementation.
“We have termed it Vision 2031. Instructions have been issued to immediately begin implementing all the promises made to the public in the manifesto so that they can be completed before this government’s term ends in 2031,” the CM said.
He added that in the 100 days starting June 1, the government would first aim to complete all manifesto promises that can be implemented quickly with minimal intervention.
The Cabinet meeting also decided to create a sub-committee to recommend names to the Centre for the Padma awards, he said.
In addition, the Cabinet decided to appoint Advocate Mohammed Shah as the Additional Advocate General in the Kerala High Court.
Another decision taken in the Cabinet meeting was to provide compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of Kollam-native Venu, who died due to alleged medical negligence at a government medical college, Satheesan said.
He also said the government would evaluate the work of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), an initiative of the previous Left government that has handled projects worth nearly Rs 90,000 crore, and would take further steps accordingly.
