[Mumbai Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project] "Allegation Malafide, Perverse & Untenable": Godrej & Boyce Files Rejoinder
The company in its rejoinder refuted all the allegations made by the State Government and claimed that they had received only Rupees 264 crores out of the Rupees 572 crores for acquiring the land belonging to the company for the bullet train project.
Godrej and Boyce on Thursday filed their rejoinder affidavit to the affidavits filed by the State Government and National High-Speed Rail Corporation in the petition before the Bombay High Court challenging the acquisition of land by the State Government for the Mumbai Ahemdabad Bullet Train Project.
The case came up for hearing before a bench of Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Sharmila Deshmukh. Godrej & Boyce has in its rejoinder refuted the allegations that it was causing unnecessary delay and hurdles in the project. The company has submitted that the land acquisition is unlawful and suffers from multiple patent illegalities.
The company has claimed that the allegations that the petitioner has delayed the project and is creating hurdles are malafide, untenable, and perverse.
The company has also submitted that there was a violation of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, wherein the state government had to estimate the cost of acquisition which was not done by the state and therefore the entire decision process is bad in law.
The company in its rejoinder has stated that an amount of Rupees 264 crore was deposited by the government however it is just a fraction of Rs 572 crore which was offered to the company for the acquisition of land.
Earlier the State Government in its affidavit of reply to the petition had submitted that through some or other way in a frivolous manner, the company is trying to delay the project which has cost the exchequer an extra 1000 crore. Further, the State government said that the project has been declared a "Vital Infrastructure Project".
In addition, the reply to the writ petition claimed that the company has lion's share in delaying the proceedings. It said,
"Thus from the instances narrated hereinabove, it is evident that the Petitioner had a lion’s share in delaying the acquisition proceedings and therefore the Petitioner cannot be permitted to milk his own wrong".
The 508 kilometers track of the Mumbai Ahemdabad Bullet Train Project covers 21 kilometers of underground track. One of the entry points of the underground track is above the land owned by Godrej and Boyce.