Land acquisition for Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train almost complete: Railways

The Railway Ministry on Monday said that more than 98 per cent of the land required for the the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet railway project in Maharashtra had been acquired.

"98.22 per cent land has been acquired in Maharashtra, in Gujarat, 98.87 per cent land has been acquired and in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, 100 per cent of the land has been acquired for the project," the Railways tweeted.

The physical progress till November 23 was 24.1 per cent, the ministry said, adding that while almost 30 per cent of the work has been completed in Gujarat, in Maharashtra, around 13 per cent has so far been achieved.

Piers have been erected for a distance of more than 118 kilometres, girders are being launched and the work on the construction of bullet train stations has also started, the ministry said.

Almost all the civil works have been allotted in Gujarat, along with the construction of piers (pillars) and all small and big bridges across rivers. The work of placing girders on the piers has also started, the Railways said.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is 508 km long and most of it is in Gujarat. In Maharashtra, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), the implementing agency of the project, has to develop the Bandra-Kurla Complex and the network in Thane, Virar and Boisar.

The contract for the construction of a bullet train station at the Bandra-Kurla Complex and the one for the construction of an underground tunnel have also been allotted. Pier and girder works will soon be visible in Maharashtra, like in Gujarat, officials said.

In Gujarat, bullet train stations have been constructed in Anand, Surat, Vadodara, Bharuch, Vilimora, Vapi and Navsari districts.

With the change of government in Maharashtra, land acquisition and approval, including forest and environment, got it without much hurdle.

Though the land acquisition and clearance of forest got in Gujarat long before, the project was facing delays in Maharashtra with slow progress in land acquisition. Soon after the new government came to power, all approval gained momentum.