‘Land acquisition only with consent’

Clearing doubts: U.P.Singh (second from left), chief project manager, NHSRCL, and Dhananjay Kumar (left), PRO, at a press conference in Palghar on Friday.

Mumbai: The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) on Friday said land acquisition for the bullet train will be done only with villagers’ consent.

“We are continuously negotiating with the villagers and we do not want to undertake compulsory acquisition. This is the mandate from our management,” Dhananjay Kumar, spokesperson, NHSRCL, said at a press conference in Palghar.

Officials said a survey for land acquisition is under way at 50 villages, while residents of 23 villagers are resisting the project.

“For those who provide land with consent will get five times the ready reckoner rate. If we have to go for compulsory acquisition, we will offer four times the rate,” U.P Singh, chief project manager, NHSRCL, said.

Over 50,000 farmers from 60 villages in Thane and Palghar districts held a protest in Dahanu on May 4.

Around 800 farmers staged another agitation on May 18 at Azad Maidan. The NHSRCL has decided to commence construction by December.

The bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The train will pass through Palghar and Thane districts. The bulk of land acquisition in Maharashtra is in these two districts.