Land acquisition notification ahead of polls keeps Sabari rail hopes alive

A last-minute notification by the government giving nod to acquire land for the Angamaly-Erumely Sabari rail project has kept the hopes of the affected landowners alive amid concerns over the Assembly elections delaying the procedures further.

The Sabari Rail Central Action Council, a forum of hundreds of families with their properties locked in the project, and other stakeholders view the notification as a crucial step as it mentions the details of the land parcels to be acquired.

The notification was issued by the Revenue department on March 14, a day before the Assembly election was announced. The notification mentions the survey numbers of the land parcels to be acquired in Ernakulam, Kottayam and Idukki districts.

The notification mentions the land parcels to be acquired from Aluva, Kunnathunad, Kothamangalam and Muvattupuzha taluks in Ernakulam district, Thodupuzha in Idukki and Meenachil and Kanjirappally in Kottayam.

A total of 152.05 hectares will be acquired from Ernakulam district, while 119.89 hectares is required from Kottayam. The volume of land required from Idukki is 31.64 hectares. This includes the land required for railway overbridges, underpasses and approach roads too.

“The previous orders on the project were general in nature, while the latest one mentions specifics of the land parcels. That shows the project is progressing well. The procedures were moving fast since the Central government issued the order defreezing the project on January 27. During the first phase of the project, it had taken around 1.5 years to issue notification for land acquisition after the Cabinet gave its nod,” Jijo J. Panachiani, secretary of the central action council, said.

Former MLA Babu Paul, who is the convener of the central action council, said the administrative sanction for opening land acquisition offices was expected to be issued this week, but the election announcement came before that. He exuded confidence that the procedures would resume without delay once the election is over.