The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project has warned the Gujarat High Court that higher land compensation awards
July 12, 2026: The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project may face a cost escalation of nearly ₹40,000 crore after higher compensation was awarded to landowners in Gujarat, the project authority informed the Gujarat High Court. The chief project manager has challenged three orders issued by the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority (LARRA) relating to land acquired in Surat and Bharuch districts. The High Court has admitted the appeals and issued notices to the respondents.
Appearing for the project authority, Advocate General Kamal Trivedi argued that LARRA’s decisions could significantly increase the financial burden on the high-speed rail project. He told the court that the project, originally estimated at ₹1.08 lakh crore, could incur an additional liability of around ₹40,000 crore, including interest. Trivedi warned that such a financial burden could seriously affect the execution of the country’s first bullet train project.
The dispute involves land acquired in Ochhan village of Bharuch district, where compensation was increased from ₹50 per square metre to ₹660 per square metre after a review. The project authority argued that LARRA ignored comparable land sale transactions in nearby villages and instead relied on land values from Simartha village and a previous compensation award related to the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway. It contended that compensation should have been determined under the provisions of the land acquisition law using comparable local sale deeds and has sought the High Court’s intervention.