The ambitious 180.5 km Thalassery-Mysuru railway line via Mananthavady proposed by the State to be taken on cost-sharing basis between Kerala and Railways has run into rough weather.
Coffee growers have come up against the proposed line that will pass through Koothuparamba, Mananthavady, Thrissilery, Kutta, Kanoor, Belale, and Thithimathi to reach Mysuru in Karnataka.
The coffee growers in the belt have conveyed their opposition to the government on the railway line proposed by the Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) in the feasibility report as it will cut through 30 to 40 km of coffee plantations in both Kerala and Karnataka, official sources said.
As much as 50% of the coffee plantations are on puramboke land and coffee growers fear that they will stand exposed and will have to surrender the plantations kept by them for years once the revenue records are examined, sources said. Wayanad grows around 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes of robusta coffee annually.
Another hurdle that has come up is the decision of the Railways that they will process the proposal of the railway line only if the two State governments agree to the ₹ 5000.03 crore mega project.
With Assembly elections round the corner in Karnataka, the State will have to wait patiently to secure the nod of the adjoining State government and to overcome the opposition of the coffee growers.
The State cannot ignore the protests brewing at Kodagu against several projects including the railway line from Mysuru to Madikeri through Kushalnagar. South-Western Railway had already included the line in the 2018-19 Works Programme.
Managing Director, Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd. (KRDCL) V. Ajith Kumar told The Hindu that proposed line from Thalassery to Mysuru can be linked to the line proposed from Mysuru to Madikeri and that it will be beneficial for railways.
Environment-friendly
The State has submitted the proposal to the Railways for inclusion in the Union Budget and 2018-19 Pink Book as KRCL had found the project énvironment-friendly and viable. But, it had failed to make it as the Railway Board was of the opinion that the consent of Karnataka and Detailed Project Report (DPR) is needed.
The State will also have to secure permission from Union Ministry of Environment and Forest, Climate Change and a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the National Wildlife Board of India. The proposed rail line also passes through 35 km of ecological sensitive zones, including 11 km of the Nagerhole National Park in Karnataka and efforts are on to take it through non-forest areas.
The line was worked out by KRCL after the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (DMRC) found that it would not be beneficial to Kerala if Wayanad was excluded. The State is pushing for the rail connectivity as it will be a big boost to the upcoming Kannur international airport and development of Malabar.
