The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is arguably the centrepiece of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to modernise India's infrastructure. The extensive Japanese involvement in the project has also been perceived as an expression of New Delhi's robust strategic partnership with Tokyo.
However, the possibility of the Shiv Sena forming a coalition government with the NCP and Congress in Maharashtra may complicate plans for the bullet train project, which is slated for completion by December 2023.
According to media reports, the three parties, which have criticised the bullet train project in the past, plan to divert funds for the project to “pro-people” schemes. News agency IANS reported that a “senior NCP” leader said that the three parties were informed that the Maharashtra government would be bearing Rs 5,000 crore of the total project cost of Rs 1.08 lakh crore.
“We came to a conclusion that once we form the government in the state, then we will inform the Central government that the state government will not bear the cost of the high-speed train project and will spend the same money on some other pro-people schemes,” the NCP leader said. The NCP leader added that the money meant for the bullet train project would be utilised for “farmers' welfare”.
NDTV quoted a Congress leader as saying that if the bullet train project were to go ahead, the Centre “should bear all cost” for it. The Congress leader claimed a new alliance government is considering a “blanket farm loan waiver”.
The Times of India reported on Friday that the common minimum programme that the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP are drawing up seeks to "absolve" the Maharashtra government of the financial burden of the bullet train project. While the CMP asks the Centre to bear the expenses of the project, the three parties have not mentioned that the bullet train project be junked.
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In the past, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had expressed reservations about the bullet train project repeatedly. Thackeray had alleged that the bullet train project would benefit "Gujarat more" at the cost of money from Maharashtra.
Maharashtra's share in the expenses for building the bullet train project is approximately 25 per cent of the total project cost. Japan is giving a soft loan of Rs 88,000 crore for the project.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, had laid the foundation stone for the bullet train project in September 2017 in Ahmedabad.
