Mitali Palnitkar
Published On: January 31, 2022 at 14:57 IST
On January 31, 2022, the Delhi High Court Judgment which had directed the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) to consider the bid of infrastructure company Montecarlo Limited for the construction and development of a depot was set aside by the Supreme Court.
The Bench comprised of Justices AS Bopanna and MR Shah. The construction and development of the depot was related to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet train project. The Bench stated that the project was of National importance. Therefore, it set aside the August 2021 Verdict of the Delhi High Court.
The NHSRCL gave the contract to SCC-VRS (JV) and rejected Montecarlo’s bid. Montecarlo then approached the Delhi High Court contending that NHSRCL had assigned no reasons while rejecting the bid.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project was launched in 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was expected to be completed by 2022. The estimated cost of the project was Rs 1.10 lakh crore. For the completion of the project, around 1,400 hectares of land would be acquired in the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Also, six thousand land owners will have to be compensated.
In 2019, several farmers and landowners had challenged the Land Acquisition for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project by filing Petitions before the Court. But the Petitions were dismissed by the Gujarat High Court.