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Project for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train is operating once more as Shinde-Fadnavis government removes obstacles.
The state government has taken steps to remove obstacles in the land acquisition process and has inked a stakeholder agreement with NHSRCL, the project's implementing authority.
Mumbai: Since taking power in Maharashtra two months ago, the BJP and the rebel Shiv Sena under Eknath Shinde have removed numerous obstacles from the way of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project.
By signing a shareholder agreement with National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), the project’s implementing agency, the state government has given its approval to allocate forest land in Maharashtra for the project and has also taken efforts to clear land acquisition-related hurdles.
In a review of the project held on Monday, Chief Minister Shinde instructed officials to finish all land acquisition for the bullet train by September 30.
Unnamed NHSRCL official claimed that “land acquisition has picked up pace” and that there have been “recent encouraging advances” regarding the state’s bullet train project.
With a speed of 320 km/h, the 508-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train will enable three-hour travel between the two cities. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing funding for the Rs 1.1 lakh crore project, which will feature a total of 12 stations, eight of which will be in Gujarat and four of which will be in Maharashtra.
While development has advanced quickly in Gujarat, the project in Maharashtra got off to a slow start. In Maharashtra, the pace of land acquisition was slower due to fierce opposition from landowners and a lack of political will, with the Shiv Sena, led by Uddhav Thackeray, actively opposing the project.
On June 30, 40 Shiv Sena MLAs left the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to form an alliance with the BJP. This led to the formation of the Eknath Shinde-led BJP-Shiv Sena rebel government. The Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Shiv Sena, which was commanded by Thackeray, made up the MVA administration.
Following a cabinet meeting a week after taking office, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the media that Chief Minister Shinde has provided all the clearances for the project.
Modi’s favourite project, the bullet train, has received a boost in front of the upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat.
Aye for the forest
According to a senior state government source who spoke to ThePrint under the condition of anonymity, one of the first actions the Shinde-led administration made after taking office was to issue a preliminary forest clearance for the project to utilise forest land in Maharashtra.
According to the NHSRCL official who was quoted before, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has now given its final approval for the organisation to divert forest land for the project.
The NHSRCL has now secured 97.47% of the land needed for the bullet train project, thanks to this approval. Only in Maharashtra, 94.37 percent of the required land has been secured.
In total, Maharashtra needs 433.82 hectares for the NHSRCL project.
The NHSRCL has been given real possession of the 63.44 percent of the state-required land for the project by the Maharashtra government authorities. Forest land is also included in this.
Additionally, the Shinde-led administration has been moving to transfer the project-related lands that are owned by several government agencies. For instance, the NHSRCL requested two plots in the Palghar district, each less than a hectare in size, in a letter to the state dairy commissioner in February 2021.
On May 31, the dairy commissioner presented a request for the transfer of land to the state government.
The idea was in limbo until the state government approved the transfer of land for the bullet train project by government resolution on August 11th. ThePrint is aware of the purchase.
Even though the Thackeray-led MVA government opposed the project, private land acquisitions in Maharashtra for the bullet train project accelerated over the previous two years.
RFP for the BKC subterranean station
The Shinde-led government cleared the way earlier this month for the state government to purchase its equity part in NHSRCL, a special purpose company that includes 25% holdings from Gujarat and Maharashtra governments as well as 50% of the Union government. The Print is aware of the purchase.
ThePrint was also informed by the aforementioned official from the Maharashtra government that the state government has ordered the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) special planning agency, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), to make land available for the construction of a bullet train station. This was a problem because the previous administration had not provided any of the 4.82 hectares needed for the project in BKC, a crucial station because it is here that the train will arrive in Mumbai and end up in the centre of the financial sector.
According to a senior government source, the MMRDA has already provided a another location for the fuel pump that needs to be relocated from the property owned by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). “We provided BPCL with possession of the alternate plot. We also issued them a notice to speed up the shifting,” he said.
Additionally, he continued, the MMRDA has requested that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) close a Covid Care Center that had been established on the property and that the NHSRCL needs for the project.
The NHSRCL has announced a tender for the building of the BKC station, which will be the only subterranean station in the entire corridor, after receiving these guarantees. On October 20, the NHSRCL will begin accepting bids for the station’s construction.
