Sreedharan rebuts Kerala CM, says no EIA needed for high-speed rail project

Kochi: ‘Metro man’ E Sreedharan on Saturday rejected the need for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for his proposed high-speed rail project and asserted that he would not submit any revised project report. He was responding to chief minister V D Satheesan ’s remarks on his proposal in an interview with TOI on July 24.The CM reiterated on Friday that state govt had not scrapped the project, but its report was “incomplete”. “An expert committee has studied the suggestions in detail. Catering only to passenger trains, the report doesn’t mention how the project will be financially viable or how many passengers might travel. Logistics is also a key factor; the report doesn’t include it. It doesn’t give a clear picture of funding. Also, an environmental impact assessment hasn’t been done. It’s incomplete,” Satheesan said.Rejecting the need for an environmental study by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which would implement the project if it gets the green light, Sreedharan said standard railway and metro rail projects are exempt from obtaining prior environmental clearance under the EIA Notification, 2006.“If we carry out an environmental study, then the rail authorities will be upset. If I do it, then similar demands will arise for all rail projects across the country,” Sreedharan told TOI.He said his team had completed its work and would not submit any additional reports. “We are not going to do all that. If govt can’t accept it, it’s okay. It’s not a must for me. We’re not going to conduct any further study and submit another report,” he said, adding that state govt had not officially communicated any feedback to him.Meanwhile, environmentalist Sridhar Radhakrishnan , who is part of the four-member technical committee constituted by state govt to examine Sreedharan’s proposal, said: “Yes, the Centre can exempt linear railway projects from environmental studies. But given Kerala’s unique geographical, environmental and hydrological conditions, environmental and social impact studies are mandatory.”“We decided not to carry out these studies for the national highway expansion project being implemented across the state. But what happened? It turned into a complete disaster, with retaining walls and roads collapsing at several places. Look at the social impact — people lost their mobility. So, given Kerala’s unique circumstances, we can’t do away with environmental and social impact studies for an infrastructure project of this size and nature. We need them even if they are not mandated by the statute,” Radhakrishnan said.Radhakrishnan said Sreedharan’s report was still under the consideration of state govt. “As the CM said, the report is incomplete. We need answers to several questions, including the type of mobility and connectivity it will provide, and there is a need to carry out a comprehensive study once a complete project is charted out,” he added.The proposed Kerala High Speed Railway (KHSR) is a fully elevated, standard-gauge, double-line corridor stretching 473.20km from Thiruvananthapuram city (Poojapura) to Kannur (Mundayad), with 23 stations. Estimated to cost Rs 60,000 crore, the project aims to reduce travel time between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur to just 3.5 hours.According to DMRC sources, the high-speed rail corridor will have a carrying capacity of 2.28 lakh passengers a day and can be integrated with the cross-country high-speed rail network being conceptualised by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL). “There will be minimal environmental impact as the entire corridor is elevated, except for a 6-km stretch,” a DMRC official said.