Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is scheduled to have a meeting with his Karnataka counterpart Basavaraj Bommai in Bengaluru on Sunday.
The meeting will mainly discuss the pending proposals of Thalassery-Mysore and Nilambur Nanjangud rail lines. Kerala's proposal to extend the Thrivananthapuram-Kasargod semi-high-speed rail line, SilverLine, up to Mangaluru may also come up during the discussions.
According to Kerala chief minister's office, the meeting is a follow-up of the recent southern zonal council of Chief Ministers of southern states held in Thiruvananthapuram. Only the Thalassery-Mysore and Nilambur-Nanjangud rail line proposals would be discussed and no discussion on extending Silver Line to Managaluru is scheduled as a decision on implementing the project in the state itself is still pending, said an official at the CMO.
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Karnatkala had earlier raised objections against the proposed Thalassery-Mysore and Nilambur-Nanjangud rail lines as the proposed alignment was through forest areas. Kerala government later sent a revised proposal combining these two alignments into a common line passing through the areas outside Bandipur and Nagarahole forest areas through a tunnel. Karnataka government was yet to take a decision on the matter, said sources.
Kerala had proposed that the semi-high-speed rail project (SilverLine), which was facing stiff opposition in Kerala, may be extended to Mangalore. But the railways had also expressed serious concerns over the semi-high-speed rail project as it would even affect future expansion of the railway, apart from citing the environmental impacts and viability aspects.
The centre is yet to give nod to the SilverLine project. There were also reports that Kerala was trying to get the support of the BJP government in Karnataka by proposing that the project could be extended up to Mangaluru.