Maharashtra overtakes Gujarat in land acquisition for bullet train project

Maharashtra has pipped Gujarat in acquiring land for the under construction Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project.

The land acquisition process, which began five years ago, is nearing its end with Maharashtra completing the acquisition of 99.75 per cent of the land in the state required for the project, data shared by National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) show. In comparison, Gujarat, which so far led the land acquisition process, has fallen a tad behind clocking 98.91 per cent as on April 24.

Before the Eknath Shinde-led government came to power in Maharashtra, Maharashtra had completed only 75 per cent of the acquisition, while Gujarat had finished 98.5 per cent of the acquisition process as of January 2022. When asked why Gujarat is trailing, a spokesperson of NHSRCL said, “Acquisition of larger chunks of land on the Maharashtra side sped up the project in the state. The small pieces of land that remain in both states will soon be acquired. Acquisition of some of these land parcels remains stuck due to court battles fought with land owners.”

While 100 per cent of the 7.9 hectares was acquired in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli way back in September 2021, the process in Gujarat and Maharashtra dragged on well beyond the initial deadline of December 2018. Bullet trains between the two destinations were to become operational by 2023.

Currently, only 1.07 hectares remain to be acquired in Maharashtra where NHSRCL has paid a compensation of Rs 3,217 crore for 1,984 private plots. While 4.83 hectares needed for the project in suburban Mumbai has been fully acquired, small plots of 0.32 hectares in Palghar and 0.75 hectares in Thane are on the pending list.

In comparison, about 10.53 hectares remain to be acquired in Gujarat where Rs 6,104 crore has been paid for 6,248 private plots. Of the eight districts where the bullet train will pass through, 100 per cent land acquisition has been completed in Kheda, Anand, Navsari and Valsad districts. Vadodara, with 5.47 hectares, has the highest quantum of pending acquisition, followed by Surat with 4.89 hectares. Ahmedabad and Bharuch also have 0.02 hectares and 0.05 hectares respectively of pending acquisition.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe had laid the foundation stone for the Rs 1.1-lakh crore project at Sabarmati in Ahmedabad in September 2017. The land acquisition process had begun a couple of months later and was met with opposition from farmers demanding higher compensation. NHSRCL later revised the compensation to be paid to private landowners.

The acquisition process in Maharashtra slowed down considerably after Uddhav Thackeray became the chief minister with the support of parties such as the Congress and NCP in November 2019. After a split in the Shiv Sena, a government headed by Eknath Shinde and supported by the BJP came to power in Maharashtra in June 2022. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had then assured the visiting Japanese officials that all obstacles would be cleared for the bullet train project in the state.

Now, the first trial run of the bullet train is expected to happen on a 50-km stretch between Surat and Bilimora in South Gujarat in 2026.

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