Bengaluru:  It’s official. The Centre has shelved the vexatious Thalassery-Mysuru Railway Line project via South Kodagu which has run into opposition from environmentalists and people of Kodagu district.

The Railway Ministry has said that the issue has to be resolved between Karnataka and Kerala.

“As such the Railway Ministry is not pursuing the Thalassery-Mysuru Railway project and it is a bilateral issue between Karnataka and Kerala,” Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said at a press conference after launching a mechanised laundry at Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station here yesterday.

“As the Kerala government proposed the project, Karnataka raised environmental concerns as the line would pass through an eco-sensitive zone. The two Sates have to resolve the issue and Karnataka should consent to the project before it makes headway,” said Goyal.

Originally mooted by the Congress-led UPA, the project was shelved in 2011 owing to resistance from environmentalists in Karnataka, especially opposition from the people of hilly district of Kodagu.

The proposal was revived in January with the Centre giving in-principle nod to the project, triggering a fresh round of protests in Kodagu.

Goyal said Union Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar had represented the environmental concerns following which the Centre decided to go slow on the project.