Kochi, Feb 2 (PTI) The Left government has moved an appeal in the Kerala High Court challenging one of its single judge's order deferring till February 7 the survey being carried out in connection with SilverLine project on several properties in Kottayam district of the state.

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The single judge's January 20 order had come on several pleas moved by the property owners against the laying of concrete poles, with the marking K-Rail, in their respective parcels of land.

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Challenging the single judge's decision, the state government has contended that there was no bar on laying concrete poles as survey marks under the Kerala Survey and Boundaries Rules or the Survey and Boundaries Act.

It has also contended that the survey being carried out was only for the purpose of marking properties for the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) study and was not for land acquisition.

Kerala government's ambitious SilverLine project, which is expected to reduce travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod to around four hours, is being opposed by the opposition Congress-led UDF, which has been alleging that it was "unscientific and impractical" and will put a huge financial burden on the state.

The 540 kilometre stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod would be developed by K-Rail -- a joint venture of the Kerala government and the Railway Ministry for developing railway infrastructure in the southern state.

Starting from the state capital, SilverLine trains will have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)