All clearances given for Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project: Fadnavis

The Maharashtra government has given all the clearances for expediting the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference after the state cabinet meeting, Fadnavis said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has given all the clearances for the project.

The pending issues were related to the forest clearances and land acquisition, among others, he said.

The estimated cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is Rs 1,10,000 crore, out of which Rs 88,000 crore are being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Over 70 per cent land required in Maharashtra for the project has been acquired in Thane and Palghar districts.

The previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government headed by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had not taken any step to put the project on fast-track. Thackeray had instead asked the railway ministry to build the high speed train corridor between Pune and Nagpur cities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe had laid the foundation of the bullet train project in Ahmedabad in September 2017. The train is expected to cover the distance of over 500 km in around two hours.