Kerala HC Pushes Railways to Complete Nilambur–Nanjangud Project Report by October 14

The Kerala High Court has directed the Railways to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the proposed Nilambur–Nanjangud railway line by October 14, setting a deadline for the project’s planning process.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M also asked the Railways to submit an affidavit on October 14 stating whether the DPR had been placed before the competent authority for approval and sanction.

The order came on a petition filed by C N Vijayakrishnan, chairman of the Kozhikode-based Cancer and Allied Ailment Research (CARE) Foundation, which runs the MVR Cancer Centre and Research Institute. The petitioner said railway connectivity was needed in the Malabar region and alleged that his repeated representations had not led to the project being taken forward.

In an affidavit filed on July 27, Southern Railway informed the court that the Railway Board had sanctioned a Final Location Survey (FLS) for the proposed line connecting Nilambur in Kerala with Nanjangud in Karnataka.

The railway authorities had stated that LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) mapping and traffic surveys required for the location survey were being carried out. The DPR was under preparation and would be submitted to the Railway Board for consideration after completion.

The Railways had also told the court that implementation of the project would depend on approval and sanction by the competent authority.

Referring to the July affidavit, the bench said the report should be ready by the next hearing if it had not already been completed. It directed the Railways to place the report’s status before the court through an affidavit, including confirmation of whether it had reached the competent authority for approval and sanction.

The proposed 236-km railway line is intended to connect northern Kerala with Karnataka. The project remains subject to the required approvals, and the court’s direction concerns preparation and submission of the DPR rather than authorisation to begin construction.

The matter is scheduled to be taken up on October 14, when the Railways must clarify the report’s status and its submission for approval.