High-speed rail project necessary for Kerala, say Cong, BJP

Commenting on the ongoing debate between the state government, which is pushing for the Regional Rapid Transit System RRTS, and Metroman E Sreedharan, who has been advocating a high-speed rail project, Opposition Leader in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan said Kerala required faster mobility solutions and that infrastructure development should proceed.

Congress and BJP leaders on Saturday said a high-speed rail project was necessary for Kerala. Commenting on the ongoing debate between the state government, which is pushing for the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), and 'Metroman' E Sreedharan, who has been advocating a high-speed rail project, Opposition Leader in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan said Kerala required faster mobility solutions and that infrastructure development should proceed. ''We are not against any high-speed rail project, and it should come. But there should be proper environmental studies, and it should be financially viable for Kerala,'' he reporters here. He said his party would not object to such a project even if it was brought by the Centre or the state government. ''The RRTS project was announced towards the end of the government's tenure, just before it is going to leave the office. It was announced without even a preliminary study. However, we will support any good project,'' he said. Satheesan said the Opposition had opposed the K-Rail project only after studying its Detailed Project Report (DPR). ''We realised it would create an environmental disaster in Kerala and would destroy the state financially. That is why we objected to it,'' he said. He said the party did not oppose the high-speed rail project proposed by Sreedharan, as it required more detailed studies. Satheesan said after expressing his views, he was attacked by those who claimed that he opposed the state government's K-Rail project but welcomed a project proposed by the Centre. ''I said, let the Railways announce the project. Sreedharan is behind it, and we will examine it. But people, including the Kerala Industries Minister, attacked me,'' he said. Satheesan said recent comments by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had confirmed that the government was aware of Sreedharan's proposal and had taken it to Delhi. He also recalled that when the Oommen Chandy-led government was in power, the present Industries Minister P Rajeev, had led protests following a fake campaign claiming that Sreedharan was being removed from the Kochi Metro Rail project. ''Now they don't like Sreedharan. I don't know what this is,'' Satheesan added. Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan said that the high-speed rail proposal put forward by Sreedharan was better overall, as it would impose a lesser financial burden on the state. ''The advantage is that the state will have to spend less. The state government only needs to acquire land, while the construction will be carried out by the Centre,'' Muraleedharan said. He said that a high-speed rail project was a necessity for Kerala. Describing the previous K-Rail or SilverLine project of the Kerala government as a ''makeshift'' initiative of the state government, he said development should not be opposed if a project was viable. ''If a good project is brought by anyone, it should be accepted because the state needs development,'' he said. Muraleedharan said that if a UDF government came to power, a decision on implementing the Sreedharan-proposed high-speed rail project would be taken based on the Centre's stand on it. ''Even though Sreedharan is perceived as a BJP supporter, he is an expert. He built the Konkan Railway when the Congress was in power. His proposal is more viable,'' he said. Meanwhile, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the state government had effectively shelved the K-Rail project and that discussions should now focus on a new high-speed rail proposal. He said that with the commissioning of the Vizhinjam port, Kerala would have several opportunities to emerge as a manufacturing hub, for which investments in highways and railways were essential. ''Whether it is RRTS or any other project will be decided in the future. But it will not be K-Rail. The CPI(M) has realised that K-Rail will not happen,'' Chandrasekhar said.

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