Kerala Govt Scraps SilverLine Project, To Withdraw Cases Against Protesters

"The Cabinet has decided to scrap the Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod semi-high speed rail corridor project called Silverline," Satheesan said at the commencement of a press conference. The CM also added that notifications regarding land acquisition for the project will be revoked, as reported by PTI.

The Congress-led Kerala government stated that the project was withdrawn due to its abandonment by the previous administration and issues pertaining to transactions regarding lands notified for acquisition, a move affecting the common man. The central government's lack of approval for the project added to the mix.

Satheesan clarified that the government would be supportive of a high-speed rail corridor as long as it was financially and environmentally sound for the state. "We had opposed the Silverline as it did not even have a proper Detailed Project Report (DPR). Had it been implemented, it would have been an environmental disaster, as 30-foot-high embankments were planned for 300 km and 10-foot-high walls for another 200 km of the rail corridor," he said. “During monsoons, it would have turned into an environmental disaster. It was not a sustainable project.”