KN Balagopal | Photo: Mathrubhumi
Thiruvananthapuram: In the wake of Railway ministry’s criticism on ‘incompleteness’ of SilverLine project’s DPR, Kerala finance minister KN Balagopal has come in defence of it by stating that it is ‘not flawed’. According to the minister though the Union government has sought more details on the project, that does not mean the DPR is flawed. He pointed out that there is no significance in the reply given by the ministry in the parliament on Wednesday. He said that the Union government is already aware about matters including land acquisition for the project.
Earlier today, the Union government in the parliament cited multiple issues for deferring the approval of SilverLine project. The minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the parliament that DPR submitted by the state government is incomplete and the technical feasibility and financial viability of the project remain ambiguous. Hence, a decision on approval cannot be taken, the minister said.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, the railways minister also emphasised that "consideration of the project will depend upon techno -economic viability of the project".
Notably, the reply came in the response to the queries raised by Kerala MPs NK Premachandran and K Muraleedharan, regarding the project.
According to the Railway ministry, the DPR submitted does not contain aspects like technical feasibility and data on land to be acquired from Railway and private parties for the project.
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