The fate of Kuttanad, which gets flooded easily, will get repeated in 393 km of the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail corridor (which has a total length of 530 km, including its elevated viaduct) at the ground level, E. Sreedharan, former managing director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, has said.
This is because high concrete or masonry walls will have to be provided to prevent trespass of people and animals in the corridor. Fencing will not help as it can be violated easily. Providing solid walls on either side is a sure environmental disaster, as it will block natural drainage and will be an eyesore as well. Providing overbridges or underbridges every 500 m, to counter concerns that the rail corridor will divide the State, alone will not be sufficient, he said on Wednesday in response to a public interaction of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
Further, about 800 rail overbridges/rail underbridges will have to be constructed in 393 km. Each will cost about ₹20 crore. That means a total cost of about ₹16,000 crore and this cost has not been included in the present estimate (of ₹63,940 crore). This will also entail additional land acquisition, which has not been foreseen. The extra cost of land and time for acquisition has to be reckoned.
“It was also mentioned that the detailed project report (DPR) of major projects are not made public. This is a total lie. I had prepared DPRs for at least 10 major projects and none of the DPRs was kept away from the public. Why should the State government fool the people by underestimating the cost and hiding facts,” Mr. Sreedharan asked.
