Sc dismisses petitions challenging shift of railway lines

New Delhi, Aug 13 (UNI) The Supreme Court today dismissed a batch of petitions challenging the decision of the Railway Ministry to shift six out of eight railway lines from the Palakkad railway division of Southern Railway in Kerala to Salem in Tamil Nadu.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Raveendran dismissed the petitions, holding that it was purely an administrative decision and the court cannot interfere.

The petitioner, including People's Forum for Natural Justice and Guruvayur Railway Development Action Council and others, was, however, granted liberty to approach the appropriate authority for the redress of their grievance.

Earlier,the counsel for the petitioner, Krishnan Venugopal, contended no expert study was carried out for the feasibility of the decision taken by the government. The Kerala government has been allocated only Rs 200 crore in the railway budget, while Tamil Nadu has been given Rs 800 crore. Moreover, Palakkad railway division was given the best efficiency zone award in 2006.

The petitioner has also alleged that it was a purely political decision taken at the instance of Union Minister of State for Railways R Velu, who hails from Tamil Nadu and at least the court should consider the issue that the decision was being implemented without any scientific and expert study and it will adversely affect the economic interest of Kerala.

UNI