Petition challenging Sabari rail project filed

KOCHI: A petition was filed before the Kerala High Court on Monday challenging the proposed Angamaly-Azhutha Sabari Rail project. The petitioners Krishnamoorthy Narayan and two others of Karshaka Raksha Samithi, Kottayam submitted that the project was formulated and proposed without conducting a proper Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA). The Expert Appraisal Committee had suggested that an EIA should be carried out properly either by the state or by the Ministry of Railways before going ahead with the rail project, the petition pointed out. The Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) had earlier conducted an EFI and recommended to abandon the project, it further said.The petition, filed through Advocate Kaleeswaram Raj, submitted that the railways cannot go ahead with the project without conducting a fresh study and by ignoring the KFRI report.