Court Sets Oct 14 Deadline for Nilambur-Nanjangud Rail DPR
The Kerala High Court has issued a strict directive to the Indian Railways, demanding the submission of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the proposed Nilambur-Nanjangud rail line. The court has set a firm deadline of October 14 for the Railways to present the report along with a formal affidavit.
Judicial Push for Malabar Connectivity
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Shyam Kumar V.M. presided over the matter. The court has mandated that the Railways clarify whether the DPR has already been submitted to the competent authority for necessary approval and sanction.
This legal intervention follows a petition filed by C.N. Vijayakrishnan, president of the Kozhikode-based CARE Foundation. The petitioner highlighted the urgent necessity for improved railway connectivity in the Malabar region, noting that previous requests regarding the progress of this project had been largely ignored by the relevant authorities.
Current Status of the Project
The project has been undergoing various survey stages. According to a previous affidavit submitted by the Southern Railway in July 2026, the Railway Board had already approved a Final Location Survey (FLS) for the line.
At that time, officials reported that both LIDAR and traffic surveys were being conducted to facilitate the preparation of the DPR. However, the actual implementation of the project remains contingent upon receiving formal approval and sanction from the competent authority.
The October Deadline
Referring to the status updates provided in July 2026, the bench expressed its expectation that the DPR would be finalized within the newly established October timeframe. The court stated that if the report is not yet complete, it must be finalized and presented to the court in the form of an affidavit by the scheduled hearing date.