Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project gets ‘all necessary clearances’

The first bullet train project of the country was stuck for want of necessary clearances from the Maharashtra government. The clearances included acquisition of land, especially at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and Vikhroli in Mumbai, and shifting of petrol pump from BKC to make way for a high-speed rail station.

According to sources, paperwork for acquiring 74 per cent of the total land required in Maharashtra for the project has been completed so far. However, NHSRCL had got physical possession of only 39 per cent of land and the remaining had been pending since 2019, when the MVA government was formed.

Opposing the project, then CM Thackeray had said that it was of no use to people of Maharashtra, adding that they needed a Mumbai-Nagpur bullet train instead.

Due to non-availability of land, the NHSRCL had to cancel the tenders it had floated for the station at BKC because of which the work on the project could not start in the state, resulting in delay and a possible cost escalation.

“Total land required in Maharashtra is 433.82 Ha, out of which physical possession of approximately 39 per cent, which comes to 168 Hectare, has been received. At BKC, a total of 4.84 Ha of land is required for Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) HSR station and 0.81 Ha temporary land is needed to facilitate construction. Earlier, allotment of for 4.2 Ha land was issued by MMRDA in February 2018 but possession of the same is yet to be given,” an official said.

The Maharashtra government on Thursday announced that it has granted all permissions required for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, considered a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The announcement comes close on the heels of sustained opposition to the project by the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) governnment led by Uddhav Thackeray, who had termed it as “of no use for the people of Maharashtra”.

In a press conference after a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “All the necessary clearances for the bullet train project have been given by the CM (Eknath Shinde) on Wednesday.” The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is executing the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail or Bullet Train Project. The project is spread over a 508-km-long stretch of which 348 km lies in Gujarat, 4km in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and the remaining, 156 km, in Maharashtra.

The first bullet train project of the country was stuck for want of necessary clearances from the Maharashtra government. The clearances included acquisition of land, especially at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and Vikhroli in Mumbai, and shifting of petrol pump from BKC to make way for a high-speed rail station.

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According to sources, paperwork for acquiring 74 per cent of the total land required in Maharashtra for the project has been completed so far. However, NHSRCL had got physical possession of only 39 per cent of land and the remaining had been pending since 2019, when the MVA government was formed.

Opposing the project, then CM Thackeray had said that it was of no use to people of Maharashtra, adding that they needed a Mumbai-Nagpur bullet train instead.

Due to non-availability of land, the NHSRCL had to cancel the tenders it had floated for the station at BKC because of which the work on the project could not start in the state, resulting in delay and a possible cost escalation.

“Total land required in Maharashtra is 433.82 Ha, out of which physical possession of approximately 39 per cent, which comes to 168 Hectare, has been received. At BKC, a total of 4.84 Ha of land is required for Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) HSR station and 0.81 Ha temporary land is needed to facilitate construction. Earlier, allotment of for 4.2 Ha land was issued by MMRDA in February 2018 but possession of the same is yet to be given,” an official said.

The official further said that apart from the land acquisition in Mumbai, forest clearance in state was also pending.

“Shifting of Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Corporation Limited (MSETCL) lines and Forest Clearance Stage-I for 29.32 ha forest land for shifting of EHV lines pertaining to PGCIL and MSETCL in Palghar and Thane districts and shifting of DC Earthing Station, for rolling stock depot, to an alternate location by MSETCL in Thane district was also pending,” the official said.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Secretary Manukumar Shrivastava undertook a review of the bullet train project on Wednesday and told the collector of Mumbai Suburbs, Nidhi Chaudhari, collector of Thane, Rajesh Narvekar, and collector of Palghar, Manik Gursal, to sort out land acquisition issues.

Shrivastava has also asked Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to hand over the Bandra plot to the National High Speed Rail Corporation and shift a petrol pump and fire station soon, sources who attended the meeting said.

The official further said that apart from the land acquisition in Mumbai, forest clearance in state was also pending.

“Shifting of Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Corporation Limited (MSETCL) lines and Forest Clearance Stage-I for 29.32 ha forest land for shifting of EHV lines pertaining to PGCIL and MSETCL in Palghar and Thane districts and shifting of DC Earthing Station, for rolling stock depot, to an alternate location by MSETCL in Thane district was also pending,” the official said.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Secretary Manukumar Shrivastava undertook a review of the bullet train project on Wednesday and told the collector of Mumbai Suburbs, Nidhi Chaudhari, collector of Thane, Rajesh Narvekar, and collector of Palghar, Manik Gursal, to sort out land acquisition issues.

Shrivastava has also asked Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to hand over the Bandra plot to the National High Speed Rail Corporation and shift a petrol pump and fire station soon, sources who attended the meeting said.