It might be the end of the rail for Sabari project

KOCHI: Looks like it's the end of the road for the Sabari Rail project. After the railways asked the revenue department to close down the special tahsildar's office in Muvattupuzha, which was set up for acquiring land for the project, the district collector held a meeting with railway officials in Kochi on Tuesday. But it failed to make any headway.
Railway officials, who attended the meeting, reiterated their earlier stand that the office should be closed down, citing shortage of funds as the reason. The letter to the Revenue Department said the office should be closed down before March 31.
District collector P I Sheik Pareeth informed the railway officials that the issue would be taken up with the state government soon.
"The railways had sent us a letter asking that the Special Tahsildar's office in Muvattupuzha be closed down. It said it didn't have the money to meet the functioning of the office. But we can't agree to the demand as we have already issued 4 (1) notification for land acquisition," Sheik Pareeth said.
Though land acquisition alone would require Rs 1,000 crore, the Union government has allocated only Rs 48 crore for the project so far. Of the 17 villages from which land is to be acquired, revenue officials have completed the process in two; in two other villages, the process has reached the half-way.
For acquiring land in seven villages, at least Rs 400 crore will be required. The railway budget for 2012-13 hasn't set apart any amount for the Sabari Rail project. Railways has also failed to give the Rs 137 crore to be distributed among land owners.