Godrej & Boyce’s appeal against the acquisition of their Vikhroli plot for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project was rejected by the Bombay High Court The court ruled that the bullet train project is crucial for the country.
The High Court said that there are no irregularities in this acquisition. It added that the bullet train was the country’s dream project and hence it could not be delayed for five years.
“The controversy has already delayed the project, it is not appropriate to extend it further,” said the High Court.
The PIL filed in the court as a result was dismissed by the judges. The Bombay High Court also rejected the plea for the adjournment of the verdict.
The deputy collector’s award and compensation of Rs 264 crore for the purchase of 39,252 sq m (9.69 acres) of corporate land for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project were contested by Godrej on September 15, 2022. The corporation asserted that the sum was a small portion of the Rs 572 crore initial offering.
The main concern raised in the petition, however, was a notification dated August 20, 2019, which exempted the project from Section 10A of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act, 2013, which requires social impact assessments.
A provision of Section 25 of the Fair Compensation Act that allows the State to provide extensions for the issuance of the award was also contested as being unconstitutional.
Since 2019, there has been conflict between Godrej and the government regarding the acquisition of company-owned land. 21 km of the 508.17 kilometres of train track that will connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad will be subterranean.
The area at Vikhroli is where one of the entrances to the underground tube is located (owned by Godrej). Godrej asserted that there were blatant illegalities in the land acquisition proceedings, while the State accused Godrej of being responsible for a cost increase of Rs. 1000 crore as a result of project delays.
