A higher compensation that will be about two to four times the market value will be provided for the land to be acquired for the proposed SilverLine — the 529.45-km semi-high-speed rail corridor connecting Kochuveli and Kasaragod, said V. Ajith Kumar, Managing Director, Kerala Rail Development Corporation, (K-Rail), the implementing agency of the mega project.
“The land acquisition as well as compensation and rehabilitation proceedings will be conducted in a transparent manner under the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and propaganda to the contrary are totally baseless,” he added.
The alignment was chosen in such a manner that the line passed through the least populated areas with minimum possible land acquisition, he said. Houses, other buildings, and even trees were entitled for a compensation that would be double the market rates.
Land only in the range of 15 to 25 m was needed and the alignment was routed through areas with low population density and vacant lands. Viaducts had been planned for 88 km to spare paddy fields and built-up clusters, which would considerably reduce acquisition.
Underground tunnels
In hilly regions and high-density locations such as Kozhikode, Mr. Ajith Kumar said underground tunnels had been proposed. Cut-and-cover technology would be adopted to avoid impact on houses and demolition of houses would also be avoided as far as possible. House-lifting technologies would be used to shift the affected structures to nearby locations.
Utmost priority had been given to see that the project was implemented with minimum impact on settlements and livelihoods, Mr. Ajith Kumar said.
The construction of a new line parallel to the existing line would not solve the present problems, which SilverLine sought to address. The Thiruvananthapuram-Tirur stretch of the existing line had a large number of sharp curves. A new parallel line would also have to pass through these points and would fail to achieve the targeted speed of 200 km per hour, he said. However, SilverLine would be running parallel to the existing line from Tirur to Kasaragod since this stretch did not have many sharp turns.
Standard Gauge, which was adopted by most countries, had been opted as it was technologically advanced and required less land. Adjoining stations were planned in many places to ensure seamless transfer of passengers, he said. Last-mile connectivity, vertical clearances for movement of people and vehicles, and facilities for people movement at every 500 m were ensured, Mr. Ajith Kumar said.