Indian Railways Ready for Phased Launch of Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project (File Photo) | Photo credit: Twitter
Ahmedabad: The Indian Railways will gradually start operating in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor due to the delay in land acquisition in Maharashtra, said the Chairman of the Railway Board YK Yadav.
Work in the corridor was hampered in Maharashtra due to protests from farmer groups and the state government. However, no such delays were reported in neighboring Gujarat. Yadav said on Saturday that the Ministry of Railways is prepared to put the corridor to Vapi in Gujarat into operation if there are further delays.
The Maharashtra government assured the Center that 80% of the land acquisition work will be completed in the next four months.
Yadav said the ministry is ready to roll out the project in stages due to the delay, but would like to do so immediately.
In Maharashtra, land acquisition in certain sections, such as Palghar, has been particularly problematic with opposition from civil society and political parties; the Maha-Vikas Aghadi coalition government in Maharashtra has also not committed to the project.
The coalition government in the state had made it clear that the project was not its priority. According to a previous report, the state government has contributed nothing to the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up to run the project: National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL).
NHSRCL was created with a capital fund of Rs 20,000, 50% of which will be financed by Indian Railways, while the Gujarat and Maharashtra state governments will contribute 25% each.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) agreed to provide a soft loan of Rs 88,000 crore to India with an extended repayment schedule for 50 years, a 15-year repayment moratorium and a meager 0.1% interest rate. BJP ally turned adversary Shiv Sena and Maharashtra boss CM Thackeray in an interview with ‘Saamana’ had already expressed opposition to the project.
“Who will benefit from the bullet train? How will commerce and industry be boosted in Maharashtra? If it is useful, please convince me and then let’s go before the people and decide what to do,” the prime minister said. “The bullet train may be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream project, but when you wake up, it is not a dream, you have to face reality,” he said previously.
