Bengaluru: Here is some good news for the people of Kodagu and Green Groups who are opposing the controversial rail link connecting Thalassery in Kerala with Mysuru via the verdant forests of South Kodagu. The State Government has clarified that it has not approved the project.

The Rs. 6,685 crore rail line, spanning more than 200 km, would pass through Wayanad of Kerala and enter Kodagu at Kutta to pass through thick forest regions like Balele-Nittoor-Kanoor and Thithimathi to reach Mysuru.

“The State government is not in favour of the project. We would not even commission the Detailed Project Report for the proposed project, given the stiff opposition from the locals and also as the project would jeopardise the fragile ecosystem of the pristine Western Ghats,” Industries and Infrastructure Development Minister R.V. Deshpande informed the Legislative Assembly yesterday.

He was replying to questions raised by BJP’s K.G. Bopaiah who alleged that both Karnataka and Kerala already met once and agreed to carry out survey for the proposed rail link amidst stiff opposition from the local population.

While acknowledging that a meeting between Secretaries of Karnataka and Kerala did take place recently, Deshpande said, “Holding a meeting does not ensure our approval for the project. We have not consented for the rail link project. Further, the project is yet to be approved by the Railway Board and thereafter a formal request has to be made by the Kerala government. Only then, we will be able to take a decision.”

“It is an elephant corridor, and the government is aware that the locals are opposing the project. We already had discussion about the project at government level. Our Forest Department has not only expressed reservations but also opposed the project as it would jeopardise the green cover and affect elephant corridor through which the rail link passes. Hence, the State government in principle has not consented for the project” he said.

Bopaiah, however, brought to the Minister’s attention that the Kerala government had commissioned a survey, following a joint meeting of its officials with Karnataka authorities on Nov. 9, 2017. Referring to the reply furnished by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to Kerala MP Mullapally Ramachandran in Parliament on Dec. 20, 2017, Bopaiah said that Karnataka had asked Kerala to carry out a survey and submit a proposal. Karnataka had even spoken about floating a special purpose vehicle. Also, the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd., was nominated by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd., a joint venture of the Kerala government and Ministry of Railways, to prepare a feasibility study and DPR for the line,                he added.

Conceding that a joint meeting had been held between the Kerala and Karnataka officials, Deshpande reiterated that the project had not been approved. “The government will ensure that no DPR will be made. The concerns of the locals and the Forest Department will be taken into consideration along with financial and economic implications.”