Efforts on to revive Sabari rail project using State’s 50% share, says CM

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan has said that the government is making efforts to resume the long-pending Sabari rail project by utilising its 50% share.

In his reply to a submission by Shibu Thekkumpuram, Kothamangalam MLA, in the Assembly, he said the Railways had informed the government that the establishment charges for setting up land acquisition units should be met from the State government’s share. The Railways had asked the government to submit details of the annual expenses incurred, including establishment charges, so that the amount of the 50% share could be determined on completion of the project, he said.

The Chief Minister said the government had requested the Union Minister for Railways to provide the Railways’ share in addition to the State’s share. The government was currently taking steps to resume the project by fully utilising the State’s share, as requested by the Railways, he said.

He said the estimated cost of land acquisition was ₹1,361 crore and the total cost of the project was ₹3,800 crore, comprising ₹1,361 crore for land acquisition and ₹2,439 crore for construction. These figures were based on 2023 estimates, and the rates had changed since then, he said.

The government stated that land acquisition for an 8-km stretch had been completed during the initial phase, and construction work on the 7-km Angamaly–Kalady stretch and a bridge had also been completed several years ago. The State government had issued an order allocating ₹1,900 crore for the project from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), it said.