THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, urging the state government to accelerate land acquisition processes that have delayed rail development projects worth Rs 12,350 crore in the state.

The minister highlighted that only 64 hectares of land have been acquired against the required 470 hectares for four major rail projects.

These projects include the Thiruvananthapuram–Kanyakumari doubling, Ernakulam–Kumbalam doubling, Kumbalam–Turavur doubling, and the new Angamali–Sabarimala line.

Despite the Railway Ministry paying over Rs 2,100 crore to the state for land acquisition, progress has been slow.

For the Thiruvananthapuram–Kanyakumari doubling project alone, 33 out of the 40 hectares required have been acquired using Rs 1,312 crore allocated by the Railways.

In October, Chief Minister Vijayan, along with Kerala’s minister-in-charge of railways V. Abdurahiman, met Vaishnaw to push for faster execution of the track-doubling projects and the Sabari rail project.

Discussions also included seeking approval for the SilverLine project, which is to be implemented by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail). The SilverLine project has been stalled due to the lack of final clearance from the Union Railway Ministry.

Previously, in August, Chief Minister Vijayan criticised Vaishnaw’s remarks in Parliament about the state’s lack of cooperation. The Chief Minister accused the Centre of complacency regarding the Sabari project, pointing out that Kerala had agreed to bear 50 percent of the project cost.

However, delays have caused the project’s cost to escalate by 36per cent, reaching Rs 3,811 crore. He added that of the Rs 2,125 crore allocated by the Railways, Rs 1,823 crore has already been deposited for three projects.

Minister Vaishnaw’s letter underscores the need for prompt land acquisition to avoid further delays and cost overruns, urging Kerala to address the issue at the earliest.