Thalassery-Kodagu-Mysuru Railway Line: No decision yet on project, Minister tells Lok Sabha

New Delhi: The Centre has clarified that no decision has been taken till date on the new Railway line that will connect Thalassery and Mysuru, cutting through the reserve forests and protected areas of Kodagu and Mysuru districts. Making a submission in the Lok Sabha on this project that has generated widespread resentment and agitation in Kodagu, Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal has stated that both Kerala and Karnataka governments had taken a few decisions. The Minister was responding to a question raised by Mullapally Ramachandran on Dec. 20 where he had asked whether the Governments of Kerala and Karnataka have entered into any understanding or an agreement regarding Thalassery-Mysuru Railway line. The MP wanted to know whether the Railway Board has held any discussion with the Government of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram recently in this regard and whether the Railway Board has deputed the Konkan Railway Corporation for the feasibility study of the Railway line. Replying to the MP, Minister Goyal said, “Permission to survey would depend upon the type of survey to be conducted and so, Kerala should send a proposal to Karnataka. If it entails no disturbance of wildlife areas, the Forest and Revenue Departments would assist Kerala to conduct the survey. Once the survey is done and it is seen that the line does not disturb wildlife and is environmentally feasible, then further action with regard to formation of the SPV (Special Project Vehicle) can be taken.” Goyal stated that the project was found economically unviable as per a feasibility report prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd., which was earlier entrusted by the Kerala government to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR). “The proposed project was facing environmental issues as it passes through reserve forest areas of both the States. So, Kerala had requested the Railway Ministry to move MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests) for granting clearance to conduct a detailed survey in forest areas for preparation of DPR. We have advised Kerala to seek specific approval from MoEF,” Goyal said. Kerala government, which has been spearheading this project, has nominated Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd., to prepare a feasibility study and the DPR of this proposed broad-gauge line. As per discussions between the Railway Board and Kerala CM, it was decided that Kerala would prepare a DPR and submit it to the Union Ministry of Railways by December 31, 2017.