The much-awaited Angamaly-Sabarimala rail project has finally gotten the shot in the arm that it needs, now that the Kerala government has agreed to bear 50% of the project’s cost. The project is estimated to cost ₹2,815.62 crore.
Sanctioned in 1997-98, the railway line is one of ten stalled infrastructure projects of Southern Railway. The project was kept on the back burner by the Railways in December 2019. Neither did the project figure on the priority list of the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL), the special purpose vehicle set up for executing viable rail projects on a cost-sharing basis with the Railways. The Transport Department too had earlier cancelled a government order issued for cost-sharing, citing it as a sanctioned project. Quoting the order, the Railways were adamant that the State should bear 50% of the cost.
Toughened stance against “Inaction of the State government”
“The Railways cannot pay for the huge escalation in project cost due to the inaction of the State government,” Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had said in a letter on January 11, 2020 to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Toughening the stance, the Minister had said that taking forward this project showing 512% increase in project cost solely with railway funds was not possible.
Accepting the stance of the Railways and the Centre that the State ought to share 50% of the cost of the Sabari rail project, the Kerala LDF Cabinet on Wednesday decided to make funds available from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
While the Railways will be responsible for the construction and maintenance of the 116-km Sabari rail project, the en route station development will be taken up through public-private partnership and fast-tracked through a special purpose vehicle. The income accrued from the project will be shared 50:50 between the State and the Railways after deducting the expenses, official sources have stated.
Raising the issue at the Prime Ministerial level, the Centre and the Railways were of the view that headway can be made on the project only if the State agreed to share 50% of the cost. The possibility of extending the line up to Punalur and further extending it to Tamil Nadu is believed to have brought about a favourable change in the stance.
A great relief to transportation problems
The proposed line would be of tremendous help to lakhs of devotees visiting the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. Although the Railways provided funds worth ₹225 crore in the 2017-18 Union budget for the Sabari line, not much progress could be made due to opposition from various quarters. The estimate of the rail line has increased from ₹550 crore to ₹2,815.62 crore now. In the 2019-2020 budget, only ₹1 core was allocated.
The decision of the State to share the cost of the project will put pressure on the Centre to infuse more funds in the upcoming Union Budget.
The final location survey and peg marking to fix central line and lay boundary stones in 40 km at Anthinadu in Kaloor panchayat in Kottayam to Erumely have been completed. Work on the seven-km Angamaly-Kalady stretch and long lead works on the 10-km Kalady-Perumbavoor corridor have been taken up. As much as 470.77 ha is needed for the line which passes through Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, and Pathanamthitta.
The proposed railway line is also expected to be a great relief to the transportation problems faced by Idukki, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts.