K-Rail, a litmus test for Pinarayi’s administrative calibre
The Hindu
Land-acquisition package indicates he is game for a head-on with opponents of SilverLine
Once a hard taskmaster schooling the party cadre and decimating any rebellion while serving as the State secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], Pinarayi Vijayan is now seemingly facing a daunting political challenge in his second innings as the Chief Minister of Kerala.
Whether the contentious Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod semi high-speed-rail project, SilverLine, will be implemented or not, many believe that Mr. Vijayan’s calibre as an effective administrator will be tested in the coming years. Unlike his previous tenure, Mr. Vijayan wants to implement things down for posterity, party sources said. The execution of the ₹63,941-lakh crore SilverLine project, he thinks, will be the legacy of the second Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet.
Perhaps no other Chief Minister in the State has undertaken so much stake in a State-level project. Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail) has been set up as a joint venture company between the State government and Ministry of Railways for implementing the project. The quick creation of a Special Deputy Collector office and 11 Special Tahsildar Land Acquisition Offices and sanction for acquisition of land in villages in all districts signal that the government means business.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.