Election announcement puts pause on hopes of Sabari rail landowners

With the State slipping into election mode, landowners whose holdings have been locked in the Angamaly-Erumely Sabari rail project fear they have been pushed into another round of uncertainty. Though the project appeared to be back on track in recent months after years of uncertainty, the landowners’ hope that the acquisition process would restart soon has hit a roadblock following the announcement of the elections.

The file regarding the setting up of land acquisition offices for the project is pending with the Revenue department, and further decisions on it are likely to be taken up only after the elections, sources said. A sense of disappointment was evident in the initial reactions of a section of landowners whose parcels have remained earmarked for the rail corridor for years without any clarity on compensation.

“As far as I understand, only landowners like us and a few people who are eager to have a rail corridor in the region are interested in the project. The Centre and the State government could have completed the procedures without delaying them till the elections,” M.P. Viswanathan Nair, whose holding in Okkal panchayat was earmarked for the project, said. He added that he did not find any fault with those who say the recent developments over the project were an election stunt.

Salim N.A. of Okkal shared the sentiment, saying he had become hopeful after the State and the Centre showed renewed interest in the project in the past several months. “We were all hoping the land acquisition offices would be opened before the election announcement. Now, I fear the fate of the project would depend on the results of the elections,” he said

The two men are among thousands of people whose land parcels have been earmarked for the 110-km railway line covering parts of Ernakulam, Idukki and Kottayam districts.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Sabari Rail Central Action Council has sought to allay the concerns, saying the procedures were on due course. “Land acquisition for a government project involves multiple offices and steps. We had been pressurising the government to speed up the work citing the impending elections, and the government has cooperated well with us. We hope the file will resume movement once the election-related restrictions are lifted,” Jijo J. Panachiani, secretary of the council, said.

The State and the Centre will share the cost of the project, and the State has decided to raise 50% of the expenses, amounting to ₹1,900 crore, through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).