The first bullet train project in the country was stuck for want of necessary clearances from the Maharashtra government. The Maharashtra government announced on Thursday 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) government led by Uddhav Thackeray, who had termed it “of no use for the people of Maharashtra.” The first bullet train project in the country was stuck for want of necessary clearances from the Maharashtra government as said by the Bombay High Court.
The clearances included the acquisition of land, especially at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and Vikhroli in Mumbai, and the shifting of the petrol pump from BKC to make way for a high-speed rail station.
Bombay High Court finals the date for hearing the matter
The Bombay High Court on Monday set December 5 for hearing the matter pertaining to the Maharashtra government’s decision to acquire Godrej & Boyce’s Vikhroli land, which was proposed to be used for the bullet train project.
Last week, in its rejoinder filed before the high court, Godrej & Boyce said that the acquisition proceedings for its Vikhroli land for the proposed bullet train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai was unlawful and the award is ex facie a nullity.
The rejoinder comes as a response to the affidavit filed by the government in the matter. The rejoinder comes as a response to the affidavit filed by the government in the matter.
Adding that the replies represent a desperate attempt by the state government to paper over multiple, patent illegalities in the land acquisition proceedings, including the entire decision-making process with respect to the subject land ordered by the Bombay High Court,
The legal tussle between the government and the company
Since 2019, the government and the company have been locked in a legal tussle over who would hold the land needed to build the bullet train on the company’s property in the suburb of Vikhroli. 21 km of the 508.17 kilometers of train track that will connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad will be subterranean. The area at Vikhroli is where one of the entrances to the underground tube is located (owned by Godrej).
The State and the Company, the largest private landlord in Mumbai, are at loggerheads over the acquisition process, with the company challenging the recent award of Rs 264 crore and questioning the government’s tardiness in coming out with the figure over two years after a hearing.
The figure is less than half of the amount decided earlier as a settlement, it said, also challenging the validity of a provision under the “Right to Fair Compensation Act” that grants the state unfettered power to extend the award deadline.
The State in turn said the company delayed things which the company in rejoinder refuted. Further, Godrej and Boyce have also said in their rejoinder that the government has failed to submit a complete report detailing the exact cost of the land acquisition.
