Bullet train project: Maharashtra mulls alternatives as MMRDA refuses to provide land

Not wanting to lose out on the prestigious bullet train project, the Maharashtra government is scouting for new land in Mumbai for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project.

This was after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) expressed inability to part with a 10-hectare plot in suburban Mumbai.

The Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project is a part of an ambitious plan of the Prime Minister of connecting major metros and upcoming urban centres with nine rail corridors with semi-high speed (150 to 200 km/h) and high speed trains (300 km/h).

A senior Minister in Maharashtra Government said that since MMRDA was unable to provide land in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), other sites such as land adjoining Bandra and Kurla Terminus and Goregaon Railway Station are being studied.

But there are some slums around the Bandra Terminus, which will have to be relocated. A review meeting for these sites would be held in a few weeks, the Minister said.

Given the interest of the Prime Minister in the project, a small monitoring cell could also be open in the State Secretariat, the Minister added.

In July 2014, former Railway Minister Sadanand Gowda in his budget speech had announced the first dedicated bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

A provision of ₹100 crore had also been made in the budget for Railway Vikas Nigham Ltd to carry out further feasibility studies.

Metropolitan Commissioner of MMRDA, UPS Madan told BusinessLine that MMRDA has not heard officially from the Railway Board about the land requirement.

Project consultants to the bullet train project have told MMRDA officials about the requirement. MMRDA has told the Railway Board that BKC being a financial and commercial district, land has to be used for that purpose only, he said.

Madan said that land in BKC being among the costliest in India, transferring that land to the Railway Board will deprive MMRDA of its revenue. Furthermore, BKC is not designed for a railway terminus. There is not enough space for other ancillary infrastructure such as big roads to handle the vehicular traffic, he said.

Other sites such as Kurla and Bandra Railway Terminus could be more suitable as they have other infrastructure, including railway tracks, for the project, Madan added.