Compensation questioned
MUMBAI: While Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had set a deadline of September 30 to acquire land for the Mumbai-ahmedabad high-speed train corridor (also called the bullet train project), the process is yet to be completed though most of the land i n Maharashtra has already been acquired. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), represented by the PM’S advisor Tarun Kapoor, is scheduled to review the project on Thursday along with state chief secretary Manu Kumar Srivastava.
One of the biggest challenges before the project is acquiring land from the Godrej group at Vikhroli, with a legal battle on in the Bombay high court between Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited and the state government.
On the request of advocategeneral Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, the court has posted the petition filed by Godrej & Boyce for final hearing on December 5, 6 and 7 and requested both sides to conclude their arguments within the time allotted.
“If the hearing concludes within the time schedule laid down by the HC, the matter is expected to be decided by the end of this year,” said a lawyer involved in the legal battle.
The petition filed by Godrej & Boyce in December 2019 had initially challenged the constitutional validity of the procedure adopted by the state government for land acquisition. Later, it also challenged the October 2022 award made by the Divisional Revenue Commissioner (Konkan Division) on the grounds that the acquisition process was null and void, as the period in which the Award was required to be made had lapsed.
The company has also questioned the compensation of Rs 264 crore approved by the Divisional Commissioner, claiming that the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) had initially offered it Rs 572 crore based on the recommendation of the district-level committee headed by the collector, Mumbai suburban district and the deputy collector (land acquisition).
When questioned, Mumbai suburban district collector Nidhi Choudhari stated that the land acquisition award had been passed, and the money had been deposited in court by the government.
In Mumbai, the terminal will be located at the Bandra-kurla Complex (BKC) on land owned by the Mumbai Metropolitan
Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
MMRDA commissioner S V R Srinivas said the Authority had already handed over the land to NHSRCL.
Earlier, the BKC fire station and a petrol pump next to it were also to be acquired for the project, but now this piece of land is not needed.
Around 98.68 percent of land has been acquired for the entire bullet train stretch till now. This includes 98.87 percent in Gujarat and 100 percent in Dadra Nagar Haveli.
In Maharashtra, l and i n Mumbai’s suburban region has been acquired completely and 99.04 percent in Palghar, where the largest acquisition of the state was to take place, has been completed. Thane has only managed to complete 96.42 percent of land acquisition. Palghar collector Govind Bodke and Thane collector Ashok Shingare told HT that the delay was because of getting proposals late from NHSRCL in some cases and from the gram sabhas in others.
According to a railway official, “The anticipated cost and timeline for the MAHSR project will be ascertained only after completion of land acquisition, finalisation of all contracts and associated timelines.”