Indian Railways has begun land acquisition for India’s first bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. For constructing this 508 km high-speed corridor, the national transporter requires 1,100 hectare of land for which a plan has been submitted to local administration in 12 districts of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
A senior railway ministry official said, “Tenders cannot be floated unless 60 to 70% of the land is acquired. As per the Japanese practice, actual construction work can be started only after getting possession of the land. This essentially aims at ensuring uninterrupted work.” He also added that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is closely monitoring the progress of this project and the authorities have been clearly instructed to avoid any delay in the execution of the project.
The alignment of the corridor passes through 3 districts in Maharashtra and 9 districts of Gujarat, for which the details of land acquisition have been submitted to the district administration. As the process has to be completed by March next year, the district administration has been told to begin the land acquisition process at the earliest.
The project has been put in the fast lane by converting it into an elevated corridor, a senior railway board official said. This will save railways the hassles and inordinate delays arising due to land acquisition. “Railways would now require 1,100 hectares of land as against 1,650 hectares, with most part of the corridor going elevated,” said an official.
Note: The high-speed rail project would cost around Rs.1.10 lakh crore.
