Sabari Rail back on agenda: Kerala Cabinet to deliberate reopening land acquisition offices
Kochi: The State Cabinet is slated to discuss the revival of the strategic Angamaly–Erumeli Sabari Rail project during its Wednesday meeting. The primary focus of the deliberations will center on reopening dedicated land acquisition offices across the affected districts to fast-track long-pending land survey and acquisition processes.
The file regarding the project currently rests with the Chief Minister's Office, which handles the Railway portfolio. The state government had previously sought status reports from district collectors regarding the ground reality of land identified for the rail route.
303 hectares to be acquired across 3 districts
A total of 303.58 hectares of land needs to be acquired across Ernakulam, Kottayam and Idukki districts for the project. The Ministry of Railways has repeatedly cited delays in land acquisition as a major bottleneck impeding railway infrastructure development in Kerala.
Consequently, Southern Railway has requested the state government to hold formal review meetings to evaluate the exact status of the land acquisition process. Though the previous administration had resolved to reopen special land acquisition offices, implementation was deferred due to electoral model code of conduct restrictions. The state had also committed to funding 50% of the total construction expenditure through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
Decades of inaction on surveyed alignment
It has been two decades since land surveying and boundary stone placement were completed for the initial 70-kilometre stretch from Angamaly to Ramapuram in Kottayam.
The proposed 111-kilometre railway line encompasses 14 stations and aims to provide vital rail connectivity to Central Travancore and high-range regions, besides facilitating travel for Sabarimala pilgrims. Reopening the special acquisition offices is viewed as the necessary first step toward restarting actual construction work on the project.