Urban Transit Projects and Internal Displacement: A study on Kerala's Silverline Corridor

Abstract

A semi-high-speed rail corridor connecting the northern part of Kerala from Kasaragod to the southern part of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram through a single railway corridor has recently been proposed. The objectives of the project are to advance accessibility and mobility between northern and southern Kerala. Nonetheless, significant protests and resistance have been recorded against the project. Infrastructural projects with no consideration for environmental contexts and vulnerabilities will seriously affect the already vulnerable environment of the state, deepen inequalities and jeopardize the capacities, assets, and activities that sustain the means of living. The objective of the study is to record the impact of large-scale urban transit projects on the environment and people. This paper ponders two questions; firstly, why there are enormous protests and serious resistance against a supposedly valuable infrastructural project? and secondly, can this project, as the protestors reiterate, lead to the internal displacement of people across the eleven districts through which the proposed rail corridor passes? The study suggests a renewed approach that implies a detailed evaluation of the project's feasibility and viability dimensions required to be undertaken before acquiring land and properties from people. The implementation of this policy, in tune with the environmental contexts of the state, is vital to protect livelihoods and promote healthy development.