Shinde government instructs MMRDA to hand over BKC land for Bullet train in four weeks

The revenue authorities have also been directed to complete the acquisition of the land in Palghar and Thane for bullet trains by September end

Mumbai A month after the civic authorities began to dismantle the Covid-19 jumbo centre in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), following a decline in cases in the city, the state government has directed the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to hand over 4.8hectare of land on which the centre came up to the National High Speed Rail Corporation for the underground station of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train by September 30.

Chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who reviewed ongoing infrastructure projects including the bullet train, Metro lines, Pune-Nashik semi high speed railway, among others on Monday were apprised by MMRDA officials that the handing over of the BKC land was delayed after the Covid1-9 centre came up when the first wave of the pandemic struck in 2020 (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

The revenue authorities have also been directed to complete the acquisition of the land in Palghar and Thane for bullet trains by September end.

Chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who reviewed ongoing infrastructure projects including the bullet train, Metro lines, Pune-Nashik semi high speed railway, among others on Monday were apprised by MMRDA officials that the handing over of the BKC land was delayed after the Covid1-9 centre came up when the first wave of the pandemic struck in 2020.

The MMRDA was directed to hand over the land in four weeks so that work on building an underground station for the bullet train can begin.

₹1.08 lakh crore has been set aside for the project and the first station will be at BKC. The NHSRC also informed the government that 77.94% of the land in Thane and 91.75% of the land in Palghar had been acquired.

The state government also instructed authorities to speedily acquire land for other Metro projects, including lines 4 and 5, in which land from Thane was still to be acquired. Authorities informed the CM that the second phases of Metro 7 and 2A will be fully operational between Dahisar and Andheri by December. The first phases of line 2A (between Dahisar and Dahanukarwadi) and line 7 (between Aarey and Dahisar) were operationalised in April.

The Pune-Nashik semi high speed rail also came up for discussion on Monday’s meeting. The railway route planned in 2017 and announced by the Central government in the 2021 budget, is yet to be cleared by the cabinet committee of economic affairs.

“The NITI Ayog gave its nod in April 2022 though the approval of the Centre’s cabinet committee of economic affairs is pending. The CM has directed expediting the land acquisition for the project which is crucial for Pune and Nashik cities. Of the 867 hectares land required for the project, the acquisition of 46 hectares in Pune, Ahmedabad and Nashik has been stuck in environment and forest related permissions,” said an official who attended the meeting.

The MMRDA told the CM that the Surya regional water supply scheme, undertaken to supply water to Mira-Bhayander and Vasai-Virar, is complete but it has not been operationalised as yet as the corporations have failed to complete the laying of the water supply infrastructure. “The corporations have not been instructed to complete the infrastructure laying for the 402 MLD water scheme at the earliest,” an official from the urban development department said.