Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project hits Maharashtra govt hurdle

The Rs 90,000-crore Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project has hit a hurdle as the Maharashtra government has categorically ruled out providing land in the tony commercial district of Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) for the proposed terminal. Instead, the government has asked the rail ministry to consider its own plots, currently vacant in Dadar, Kurla or Bandra terminus.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a recent communication to Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu has conveyed the government’s inability to spare land, citing that the state undertaking Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) does not have adequate land.

Further, the chief minister said, it would be a loss-making proposition commercially and financially for MMRDA, as it depends on sale of land to raise finances for costly infrastructure in Mumbai and the extended Mumbai Metropolitan Region. MMRDA is the authority for planning and development of BKC, spread over 370 hectares.

BITE THE BULLET

• Construction is supposed to begin in 2017, with completion slated for 2023
• With trains zipping along at up to 320 kmph, the 505-km Mumbai-Ahmedabad journey will take two hours compared to eight hours now
• Maharashtra government and MMRDA want railways to consider land in Dadar, Kurla or at Bandra terminus for a bullet train terminal

A state urban development department official, who did not wish to be named, told Business Standard, “After Japan extended the loan amounting to 81 per cent of the high-speed rail project cost (Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train), the ministry called upon the state government to make prime land available in BKC. The ministry has not conveyed the area required for the bullet train terminal. In view of the scarcity of land and its commercial value, the chief minister has conveyed the state government’s inability to meet railway ministry’s demand.”

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The official said the government has asked the railway ministry to consider vacant land in the railways’ possession in Dadar and Kurla for the bullet train terminal.

The MMRDA official said land is an important source of its income. “The current rate of floor space index (FSI) is Rs 3-3.5 lakh per sq metre. It is not the land rate but FSI rate. The land rate can be five times more.” He, too, suggested the railways explore land at the Bandra terminus, which might also help the railways integrate it with the suburban rail. The official said MMRDA proposes to auction plots over 20 hectares to finance some big-ticket projects, including Dahisar East-Andheri East Metro, Dahisar East-Charkop-DN Nagar Metro and Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ruling partner Shiv Sena, which has opposed the goods and services tax amendment Bill in the present format, has strongly opposed the superfast train project saying the government should instead spend money on improvement of Mumbai suburban train services. According to the Sena, priority should be to improve the speed and safety on existing trains and routes.