Updated on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 00:00 IST

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi, July 22: The Central government is expected to inform the Supreme Court on Tuesday that it would go ahead with the contentious Sethusamudram Project.

Sources said that the Centre will file an affidavit in the apex court seeking permission to proceed with the project. The government is also likely to tell the court that conducting an ASI survey before resuming work was not necessary.

The UPA government’s turnaround on the project is being seen as a gift to its ally DMK, ahead of the crucial trust vote in Parliament today. The Southern party has been pushing for the project.

The Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project, once complete, will allow big ships from the West Coast of India to travel to the East Coast through the Palk Bay, instead of going around Sri Lanka.

This will translate into a saving of upto 424 nautical miles and upto to 30 hours in sailing time.

The project, which started in July 2004, ran into troubled waters when Hindu groups began protesting against the dredging across the Sethusamudram Canal saying it would destroyed the Ram Sethu, or Adam’s Bridge, believed to be the passage created by Lord Rama to rescue his wife from the hands of demon King Ravana in Sri Lanka.

Environmentalists also opposed the project saying it would destroy the biosphere reserve in the area laden with coral reefs.