Lok Sabha Question No. 397 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-03
Subject: Sabari Railway Line Project
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Anto  Antony, Thomas Chazhikadan, Adoor Prakash

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 397

TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.02.2021

SABARI RAILWAY LINE PROJECT

397.  SHRI ANTO ANTONY: SHRI THOMAS CHAZHIKADAN: ADV. ADOOR PRAKASH: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
2. (a) the current status of Sabari Railway Line Project in Kerala along with the details  of  total  length,  number  of  stations  proposed  and  the  estimated cost of implementation of this project;
3. (b) whether the Government has agreed to share the cost of implementation with the State Government, if so, the details thereof;
4. (c) whether the Government of Kerala has given consent to bear 50% of the implementation cost, if so, the details of cost sharing between Centre and State in this regard;
5. (d) the steps taken by the Government for timely completion of the project;
6. (e) whether there is any possibility to connect Cherthala Railway Station and Kottayam Railway Station via Kumarakom with the said project; if so, the details thereof; and
7. (f) whether the Government is planning to start a coach factory in Palghat, Kerala during the financial year 2021-22, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMERCE & INDUSTRY AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a)  to (f): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (f) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 397 BY SHRI ANTO ANTONY, SHRI THOMAS CHAZHIKADAN AND  ADV.  ADOOR  PRAKASH  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON 03.02.2021 REGARDING SABARI RAILWAY LINE PROJECT

(a)  to  (d):  Angamali-Sabarimala  new  rail  line  was  included  in  the  Railway Budget for 1997-98 at a cost of ` 550 crore. Total length of the project is 116 Km. Latest anticipated cost of the project is ` 2815 crore.

There are 14 stations proposed in this project- (i) Angamali, (ii) Kaladi, (iii) Perumbavoor, (iv) Odakkali, (v) Kothamnagalam, (vi) Moovattupuzha, (vii) Vazhakkulam,  (viii)  Thodupuzha,  (ix)  Karimikunnam,  (x)  Ramapuram,  (xi) Bharanaganam, (xii) Chelamattom, (xiii) Kanjirapalli Road, and (xiv) Erumeli.

The  5  km  section  of  this  project  was  passing  through  Periyar  Tiger Reserve  Forest.  On  the  request  of  State  Government,  the  project  was terminated at Erumeli due to reserve forest area. Alignment of the project passes through three Districts i.e. Ernakulam, Idukki and Kottayam districts. Final location survey (FLS) for Angamali-Kaladi-Ramapuram section (70 Km) has been completed in 2002 and further survey in the Kottayam district was stopped by local people in 2007 due to objections on alignment.

Consequently, in this project, work on Angamali-Kaladi (7 Km) and long lead works on Kaladi-Perumbavoor (10 Km) have been taken up. However, further works on this project could not be taken forward due to protests by local  people  against  land  acquisition  and  fixing  of  alignment  of  the  line, court cases filed against the project and inadequate response from the State Government of Kerala.

This  has  delayed the  execution  of the  above  project  and  as  a  result, project cost has increased from ` 550 crore in 1997 to ` 1566 crore (including land cost of ` 719 crore) in 2011 and further to ` 2,815 crore (including land cost of ` 965 crore) in 2017. As taking  forward of this project showing 512% increase in project cost solely with Railway Funds was not possible, Railway had requested Government of Kerala vide letters dated 06.09.2011, 22.12.2011, and 08.10.2012 to share atleast 50% cost of the project.

Government  of  Kerala  vide  their  letter  dated  27.11.2015  agreed  to share 50% cost of the project. Government of Kerala had also identified this project for execution under Joint Venture Scheme with Ministry of Railways and therefore, an MoU was also signed on 01.09.2016.  Unfortunately, within a  year,  the  State  Government  vide  letter  dated  15.11.2016  withdrew  their own consent to share 50% cost of the project.

However, given the public demand, Railways again conducted detailed deliberations  on  the  feasibility  of  taking  forward  this  project  vis-à-vis  the availability  of  funds.  Due  to  significant  deficit,  it  was  again  decided  by Railways in December, 2017 that the project should be undertaken on cost sharing basis.

Government of Kerala was again requested vide letters dated 06.02.2018 and 01.03.2018 for their consent to share atleast 50% cost of the project for the benefit of the State.  There has been no positive response to this  offer.  As  the  State  Government  has  withdrawn  its  own  previously sanctioned consent to share 50% cost of the project and is not cooperating in resolving the various obstructions, Railways has decided to freeze further expenditure  on  this  project  temporarily,  and  keep  execution  of  works  in abeyance, in September, 2019.

Ministry of Railways vide letter No. 93/W-I/Survey/SR/11 dated 11.01.2020 advised Government of Kerala that it is not feasible for Railways to take the project forward solely with Railway funds, and State Government of Kerala was again requested to share  the cost of development of Railway network in the State. This will help Railways to provide the much required rail  link  for  the  travelling  needs  of  local  people  and  pilgrims  to  the  Holy Shrine.

After long persuasion, recently Government of Kerala vide letter dated 07.01.2021  has  conveyed  their  decision  to  share  50%  of  the  total  project cost ( ` 2815 crore) of Angamali - Sabarimala Railway project through Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), subject to the condition that operation and maintenance of the track shall be done by Ministry of Railways while the stations along the route  will be developed by an Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) (through public private partnership route) and the net revenue realized  by  the  SPV  will  be  shared  on  a  50:50  basis  between  State Government and Ministry of Railways, after offsetting the cost of Operation & Maintenance (O&M) as agreed to by Railways. This is not in line with the consent given earlier by Government of Kerala vide letter dated 27.11.2015.

(e):  Rail  connectivity  from  Kottayam  to  Cherthala  via  Kumarakom  is  not feasible as there are large water bodies in between and no additional traffic is anticipated from this section.

(f):  The  requirement  of  coaches  vis-a-vis  available  manufacturing  capacity within Indian Railways has been reviewed recently and requirement of main line coaches in near future does not justify initiating construction of a new coach factory.

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