Bullet train hopes for fair weather

AHMEDABAD: The ambitious Rs 1 lakh crore high-speed rail project connecting Ahmedabad and Mumbai is being made to bite the bullet. The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), a joint venture between the governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra, has been rocked by land acquisition litigation and unresolved issues concerning compensation packages, which it the project’s biggest challenge today.
The July 25 land acquisition consent and disbursement report shared between the Gujarat and Maharashtra governments, shows that both states have acquired just 34% of the land needed, with 44% of the land acquisition in Gujarat being complete. Some 40 Gujarat farmers have dragged the state government to court over its compensation packages that are based on the 2011 jantri (government ready reckoner) rates. The farmers also challenged the state’s competence in issuing land acquisition notices under its own law, when a 2013 central law for land acquisition exists. Gujarat has to acquire 5,441 plots of the 7,247 required for the project. The July report states that 2,370 plots have been acquired in Gujarat and compensation disbursement for 1,970 plots (261.81 hectares), worth Rs 1,241 crore, has been made.

Gujarat chief secretary J N Singh claimed, “We are in the last phase of land acquisition. We have not compromised on any aspect of the acquisition process. Even if there is one formality to be met, we have shown the status as ‘pending’. We are hopeful of completing the land acquisition before December 2019.”
Singh and his team are confident that more than 95% of the acquisition will be done by December. However, Gujarat’s revenue officials on the ground claim that land surveys have stopped in 15 of the 198 villages in Vadodara (1), Bharuch (1), Surat (8) and Navsari (5) due to the low jantri rates, applying the proverbial ‘pressure brakes’ on the project.
In Navsari district where all the 711 plots are yet to be acquired, some resistance is being felt. Singh said, “In Navsari orchard owners are making representations on their issues. We have informed the Union government and the railway board of these.”
Meanwhile,, railway minister Piyush Goyal told the Lok Sabha last month that the railways had acquired 537 hectares of the total 1,380 hectares needed for the bullet train project, which will be completed by December 2023.
Work on important sections has been put on the fast track. Last week the NHSRCL invited bids for design and construction of civil work (viaducts and bridges) on a 91-km stretch of the double-line high-speed railway, for which 66% of land acquisition has been completed. This 91-km section will have one elevated station, at Anand-Nadiad. In all, the NHSRCL has invited bids — three tenders in all — for construction of about 69% (348km) of the 508km route, including 21km of underground tunnel, five elevated stations and a depot at Surat.