The Kerala High Court has directed the Railways to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed Nilambur-Nanjangud railway project by October 14, bringing a firm judicial deadline to a long-pending connectivity proposal linking Kerala’s Malabar region with Karnataka.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M also directed the Railways to submit an affidavit on October 14 stating whether the DPR has been placed before the competent authority for approval and sanction. The court’s direction requires the Railways to report not only on the preparation of the document but also on the next administrative stage of the project.
The order was issued in response to a plea filed by C N Vijayakrishnan, chairman of the Kozhikode-based Cancer and Allied Ailment Research (CARE) Foundation, which runs the MVR Cancer Centre and Research Institute. The plea argued that the Malabar region needed improved railway connectivity and that the demand had not received adequate consideration despite several representations to the authorities.
The proposed line would connect Nilambur in Kerala with Nanjangud in Karnataka. The court’s direction does not amount to approval or sanction for construction of the railway project. It requires the Railways to complete the DPR process and clarify whether the document has been submitted to the competent authority for a decision.
In an affidavit filed in July, Southern Railway informed the court that the Railway Board had sanctioned a Final Location Survey for the Nilambur-Nanjangud Railway Project. The survey is an important preparatory step before a project can be assessed in detail for alignment, feasibility, cost and implementation requirements.
Southern Railway also stated that the LIDAR survey and traffic survey required for the Final Location Survey were under way. LIDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, is used to collect detailed terrain and surface data, while a traffic survey helps assess potential demand and operational requirements. The Railways told the court that the DPR was being prepared and would be submitted to the Railway Board for consideration after completion.
The Railways had also stated that implementation of the Nilambur-Nanjangud project would depend on approval and sanction by the competent authority. The court referred to the affidavit filed on July 27, 2026, and said it hoped the DPR would have been prepared by the next hearing. If it has not been completed, the bench directed that it should be prepared by October 14 and placed before the court through an affidavit.
The project’s progress will therefore remain tied to the completion of the DPR, its submission to the Railway Board and the subsequent approval process. The Railways must update the Kerala High Court on these steps at the October 14 hearing.
