Despite overt warning by experts, the CPI(M) is bent upon materialising the Sky Line rail project
More than 75 years after George Orwell wrote Animal Farm, a satirical novella based on the goings-on in a proletarian republic shows the socialists and communists rule as per the great author’s script. Their guiding principle remains the same; ‘we are always right and others are wrong’. The CPI(M)-led Kerala Government’s obsession with the 529.45-km Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram Semi High Speed Rail Project (popular as Sky Line rail) underscores the Animal Farm mindset. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says the new project would bring down the commute between the State’s northern and southern ends from the current 12 hours to less than four hours. The project will cost `63,940 crore as per the detailed project report and requires 1,383 hectare land. Of this, 1,200 hectare is with private individuals; the project would evict 35,000 people from their homes. The Government has no answer to the queries regarding the rehabilitation of those displaced. E Sreedharan, who is an authority on massive infrastructure projects and the master brain behind the country’s Metro Rail, has made his opposition known to this project. He says it is not viable or feasible in Kerala.
The question is whether there are enough commuters in the State who would be able to make use of this mode of transport on a daily basis. The CPI(M) was in the forefront of agitations against the bullet train project connecting Ahmedabad to Mumbai despite the fact that it is one of the most crowded passenger segments. All up-and-down services between the cities are filled to capacity, according to the Railways Ministry. Kerala is among the most ecologically fragile States, as has been proved by the frequent deluges caused by rains and landslips. The forest cover in the State (which was 35 per cent in the 1970s) has depleted to just 13 per cent due to massive deforestation and mining. The Government is yet to prepare an environment impact analysis. Aloke Kumar Varma, former chief engineer of Indian Railways who led the team that prepared the DPR, says the report has been manipulated to suit the convenience of the Comrades. NK Premachandran, MP and former Minister, says the existing rail route could be modernised without acquiring additional land and heavy investment. Sreedharan echoes the view. The expansion should not be accompanied by destruction and demolition.