The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project could see its cost rise by nearly Rs 40,000 crore after significantly higher compensation was awarded to landowners in Gujarat, the project authority has informed the Gujarat High Court.
A TOI report said the chief project manager of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project has challenged three orders issued by the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority (LARRA) concerning land acquired in Surat and Bharuch districts. The Gujarat High Court admitted the appeals on Friday and issued notices to the respondents.
Appearing for the project authority, Advocate General Kamal Trivedi argued that LARRA’s orders, passed in January and February, could substantially increase the financial burden on the high-speed rail project.
The project, originally estimated at Rs 1.08 lakh crore, could incur an additional liability of around Rs 40,000 crore, including interest, Trivedi submitted before the court.
“We will not have the bullet train if this particular burden is cast upon us. I am making a very bold statement,” Trivedi was quoted as saying.
Compensation Dispute
According to the TOI report, the dispute centres on land acquired in Ochhan village of Bharuch district’s Amod taluka under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act following a 2018 notification.
In one case, the land acquisition authority fixed compensation at Rs 50 per square metre in 2020, resulting in a payout of Rs 85.86 lakh. However, after the landowner sought a revision, LARRA enhanced the compensation rate to Rs 660 per square metre, increasing the award to Rs 8.46 crore.
The project authority has challenged the revised award, alleging that LARRA ignored sale transactions involving comparable land in nearby villages. Instead, it relied on the jantri value of land in Simartha village, around 14 kilometres away, and also considered a 2013 compensation award related to the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway, the report said.
Using Simartha’s jantri rate of Rs 450 per square metre and applying an annual escalation of 10 per cent over four years and eight months, LARRA arrived at the revised rate of Rs 660 per square metre.
The project authority argued that compensation should have been determined based on the average sale price of comparable land in the nearest village, citing sale deeds from 2015 to 2017 under Section 26(1)(b) of the land acquisition law. It also contended that LARRA was not permitted to rely on an earlier acquisition award involving land in a different village under Explanation 3 to Section 26(1) of the Act.
