LDF is bulldozing tiny Kerala with the unbearable weight of K-Rail project: K Sudhakaran

Protests have been erupting sporadically in Kerala against the Left Democratic Front government’s K-Rail project. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and Kannur MP K Sudhakaran asserted that if the state government went ahead with demarking land for the project, the stones would be removed with the support of the people.

“LDF is bulldozing tiny Kerala with the unbearable ecological and financial burden of K-Rail. The state will crumble under its weight,” said Sudhakaran in an exclusive interview with National Herald.

EDITED EXCERPTS FROM THE INTERVIEW:

Why do you think a project like K-Rail is problematic for Kerala?

We are opposed to the risks the K-Rail project poses to an environmentally vulnerable state like Kerala. For any project of this magnitude, an environment assessment study has to be conducted. But the Kerala CM has rubbished the need for one even though the project runs parallel to the Western Ghats, one of the global biodiversity hotspots.

For such a project, acres of land will have to be acquired, fields currently in use for agricultural purposes will have to be filled and raised. When this land gets filled, the natural flow of the water in the state gets impacted. Water will get accumulated in other parts causing floods again. The victims of this project will not only be those whose lands will be acquired, but also those who live in and around the area.

Farming won’t be possible, travel will be halted, roads can’t be extended and the current rail track cannot be improved as a result of this project. The government would ban buildings or expansion of roads within the vicinity of the railway line. The whole state will suffer just for this project.

Governments which are transparent and put out all the details in front of the people are the true guardians of development and democracy. When projects are forced on the people of a state, even when they do not want it cannot be called development.

Just as Rahul Gandhi said in Parliament, such instances only happen under a king’s rule, not in a democracy. Development which is in line with what people want is what that true progress is.

What are the issues with K-Rail’s Detailed Project Report?

The DPR does not have the social and environmental impact of this project. Can such a report be called conclusive? The so-called detailed project report was released only recently after protests. It was written without any study, so what is the point of such a DPR?

Now, the Union government has almost rubbished this DPR and Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw pointed out in Parliament on February 2, 2022 that the report is inadequate. Vaishnaw stated that several details are missing in it. He said the project will be considered based on its techno-economic viability. It has already been established that the K-rail’s DPR is not a conclusive document.

In a letter addressed to me dated Jan 6, 2022, the Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Patil Danve stated that at this stage, issues such as type and quantum of acquisition of land cannot be ascertained.

Do you think the Union government will backtrack from its current decision on the project?

We cannot believe the BJP at all. However, as of now, they have said that this project is not under consideration. K-Rail has not even been mentioned in the Union Budget. We do not know when they will change their stand.

BJP wants a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ and for that they will slyly join hands with CPI(M) too. We saw that happen during the Assembly elections too. I’ll elaborate it in another interview.

It will be extremely damaging for BJP in Kerala if they ever support K-Rail; then that will be the doom of the party in the state. But it is not necessary that the central leadership will listen to the Kerala unit of BJP either.

Metroman and BJP’s main person in Kerala E Sreedharan is against this project. If the Union government decides to support it, it will be a loss of face for him too.

Can Kerala afford to take on more debt to build K-rail?

Kerala is already staggering under debt to the tune of Rs 4 lakh crore. This project is being made possible only with loans. There are differing views on what the cost of this project will be. The government has given the figure of Rs 63,000 crore, NITI Aayog has stated that this project will cost Rs 1.26 lakh crore and experts have stated that this project cost will end up being Rs 2 lakh core.

All of this is dependent on the project being completed within the time mentioned. No project in Kerala has been completed within the time frame mentioned.

Look at Vizhinam seaport project, check its status. Currently, there is an acute shortage of rocks and Kerala does not have enough material to complete the project. The state has sought Tamil Nadu’s assistance for this and so far nothing has worked out. Activists in Tamil Nadu have protested against this. All of this will only add to the expenditure of K-Rail.

Are LDF’s allies also against the K-Rail project?

When a project with such environmental repercussions as this is considered, several people give their considered opinions. Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad is an outfit which supports all of Left Democratic Front’s programmes. This time, even they have strongly opposed this project. They have opposed it knowing fully-well the environmental damage this project will cause to the state.

Their own partner CPI is against this project. They have expressed their concerns about the project. If the CPI(M) cannot even convince its own alliance partner about this project, how are they hoping to convince the state?

They only have childish comebacks to all criticisms. That doesn’t augur well for the citizens of the state.

Kerala is still reeling under the effects of the two major floods. Yet, the LDF government is pushing ahead with a project such as this. Isn’t it a lack of vision?

For the K-rail project, lakhs of trees will have to be uprooted; it will require rocks and soil. The environmental damage this project will cause is humongous. We have seen how accurate the Madhav Gadgil report on the Western Ghats has been proven to be. This is a lesson for all of us politicians.

Whatever is stated in that report is happening in real-time now. All the climate changes visible in Kerala now were mentioned in the Gadgil report, but all of us politicians had rubbished that report and opposed it.

There were a few who had supported the report and now they have been proven right. Scientists and environmentalists are saying that the changes in Kerala’s climate pattern have to do with environmental changes made by human beings.

This is not a scheme which is viable socially, environmentally or even fiscally. People may want to travel at high speed, but all development should be in tune with what is possible in a state like Kerala.

For any such project of this magnitude, the government should speak to the stakeholders. But this government hasn’t. Why?

This government is afraid of response of the people. They are afraid that they will be criticised and the CM currently cannot take any criticisms. The government is hesitating to meet those who will be truly affected because they are afraid of the people’s response. They have to rehabilitate more than 10,000 families. When and how will they do that?

If you look at the K-rail reports, you will see that the government has met a few businessmen. Those are people who have no skin in the game and they stand to make money from this project, so they will naturally support it.

Kerala suffered many losses during the two floods which hit Kerala. The LDF government has not even been able to build homes for all those who lost their homes in the first floods. People are still waiting for their homes. And you expect us to believe that this government will be able to provide alternate housing and amenities to more than 10,000 families who will lose their homes due to this project?

The LDF could accuse the Congress of being against development in the state?

That is not an accusation that LDF can ever throw at UDF. The country will laugh at them. All that you see in this country has been built by the Congress. Everything that is being sold by the Union government now was created by the Congress. Which other party can claim to even have done anything of this magnitude for the country? Who made this land a country?

Ours was a country which stared at poverty, food shortage and unemployment. Congress uplifted the country out of poverty and unemployment, while also building public institutions.

Go examine the state of West Bengal, where CPI(M) ruled for years. The poverty there is shocking and what did they build in those years? Nothing! What can LDF claim to have built in Kerala? All the PR of the LDF government will not be able to help them in this debate.

Congress, on the other hand, can point towards each and every thing that we have done in the state. The development was due to K Karunakaran, AK Anthony and Oommen Chandy’s governance. Will they be ready for this debate? We are not against development. It is a childish argument to say that Congress is against development.

Why is the state government aggressively pushing ahead with this project which doesn’t even have in principle agreement from the Centre?

This is why LDF’s behavior is suspect. The Japanese firm is selling an outdated technology to us. On probing, it has been found that this government aims to fool those banks from where the loan will be sanctioned. The loan will be sanctioned only after the land has been surveyed. But how can the land be demarcated for a project which has no approval?

The High Court has stayed the survey too. But that doesn’t matter to Pinarayi Vijayan. No orders matter to him, just like Narendra Modi. Just like the PM doesn’t care about SC orders, Kerala CM has decided he won’t pay heed to HC’s orders. He believes he doesn’t have to listen to the High Court and can bulldoze the project through. Kerala CM wants to imitate Modi’s dictatorship. That is a huge mistake. People of Kerala are not fools.

Kerala finance minister KN Balagopal has also misled the people of the state by stating that there was in-principle agreement for the project when there is none.

Congress said that it would uproot K-Rail survey stones and put up a fight against it. What is the status of those protests?

We have begun circulating circulars on the pitfalls of this project. Omicron is on the rise in the state. Almost every second person in the state seems to have Covid-19 and there are restrictions on organising protests. Only CPI(M) gets permission. But as soon as the Covid-19 situation improves in Kerala, we will be out. You will see us educating the people and hitting the streets in a few weeks. The people of Kerala will stand with us.

If the Kerala government is ready to make changes to the plan, will the Congress support it?

K-rail is not a project whose plans can be changed in between. Minor changes will not affect the whole plan. Walls of 38-metre height will have to be built for the project. This is akin to dividing a small state like Kerala.

How is the LDF going to solve that? We will not support this project.

Does the UDF or Congress have an alternate rail plan for connecting the north and south of Kerala?

There was a viable suburban rail project which was discussed during the previous Oommen Chandy government’s tenure. But the project was cancelled because of politicking. Only 300-acre land and Rs 10,000 crore is required to implement the suburban rail project launched by the UDF.

In the pilot phase of the project, the development of a railway lane till Chengannur was approved at the cost of Rs 1943 cr. Only 70-acre land was needed for it. The suburban train will take service through the lanes which are already constructed. This project should be discussed in greater detail now.