Japan stops cash for bullet train after project stalled over land row

The protest against land acquisition for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project has become a huge roadblock for the cash flow from Japan.

The latest installment that funding agency Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was supposed to release for last quarter, did not reach, said sources from Gujarat government. The JICA stopped the payment on the grounds that the project did not show any progress due to several disputes.

A senior state official, said on condition of anonymity, “As issues over acquisition of land for the bullet train project surfaced in Gujarat as well as in Maharashtra, no progress could be made. The agreements for payment of installment is conditional and the funds arrive from JICA if the progress is constant. The first installment of Rs 125 crore was sanctioned when the Japanese PM visited Gujarat in last September.” Read more

Courtesy: DNA