New Delhi | The construction on Angamali-Sabarimala new line can proceed once Kerala begins acquiring land, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has told the Rajya Sabha.

In a written reply to Parliament on Friday, he said that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was requested in a recent meeting to acquire land with the state's 50 per cent share of the cost of the project.

The reply came in response to a query by Congress MP from Kerala, Jebi Mather Hisham.

Vaishnaw said the Angamaly-Sabarimala via Erumeli line project was sanctioned in 1997-98, and the work on the 7-km Angamaly-Kalady and long lead work on the 10-km Kalady-Perumbavoor is on.

"However, further works on this project could not be taken forward due to protests by local people against land acquisition and fixing of alignment of the line, court cases filed against the project and inadequate support from the State Government of Kerala," he said.

Vaishnaw said the estimated cost of the project was updated to Rs 3,801 crore and submitted to the state government in December 2023 for acceptance and to share the cost of the project.

In August 2024, the Kerala government communicated its conditional consent, but the Railways sought an "unconditional consent" for cost sharing.

Vaishnaw said the Kerala government was asked to enter into an agreement with the railway and the RBI for the project. But, in a memorandum submitted by the state on June 3 this year, it refused the proposal.