A high-level meeting convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday is expected to discuss the Sabari rail project.
The meeting will be attended by District Collectors of Idukki, Kottayam and Ernakulam; officials from Railways and the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), a joint venture between the State and Railways for executing viable projects on a cost-sharing basis; and State officials, including the Chief Secretary.
After much dilly-dallying, the State has recently agreed to sign a tripartite agreement to make the long-pending Angamaly-Sabari rail project a reality. The State decided to go for the tripartite agreement after its request to the Centre to exempt the project cost from the State government’s borrowing limit evoked no response.
Project cost
The revised cost of the project, which is chiefly aimed at providing a rail link to Sabarimala, is around ₹3,800 crore and the State will have to shoulder half of the project cost. The project will also bring the high-range areas of the State on the rail map.
The Angamaly-Sabarimala rail line project via Erumeli was sanctioned in 1997-98. Initially, work on the Angamaly-Kaladi (7 km) stretch and lead works on the Kalady-Perumbavoor (10 km) stretch were taken up. However, further work on the project could not be taken forward due to various reasons, including protest against land acquisition by local residents.
Published – December 15, 2024 09:01 pm IST