Alternative land offered by the Godrej Group was prima facie found suitable for acquisition for the bullet train project, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) that is constructing the 508 km line between Bombay and Ahmedabad told the Bombay High Court (BHC) on July 31, 2018, as reported in The Indian Express on the same day. The Group had sought a direction for the authorities concerned to change the project alignment so as to exempt from the plan nearly 8.6 acres of land belonging to its infrastructure arm Godrej Construction.
In June this year, the Group had approached the BHC challenging the proposed acquisition of its prime property in Vikhroli, an east Bombay suburb for the project. The Group had in a previous hearing told a division bench of Justices N. H. Patil and G. S. Kulkarni that it had suggested an alternate plot. However, it came to light that the said plot was embroiled in a title dispute between the state government and the Group. Following this, the conglomerate had suggested a second alternate plot, also in Vikhroli to NHSRCL, who, in an affidavit said prima facie the site is suitable. "We will examine the proposal in detail and have also sent a modified sketch for the petitioner’s (Godrej) consideration,” the affidavit said.
The Court also noted that NHSRCL will also have to consider several other aspects before taking the project forward. "There are a lot of things to consider apart from such technical aspects…environmental rules and regulations…presence of mangroves. You (NHSRCL) will have to look into all of this before you start work for the project,” Justice Patil said.