Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project Head Sacked By Railways Over Corruption Allegations

Satish Agnihotri, the Managing Director of National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) and the person who was in charge of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project has been sacked by the Railways.

The action by Railways came after a Lokpal court order in June directing the CBI to probe charges of a "quid pro quo" deal allegedly struck by the former NHSRCL MD with a private company during his nine-year tenure as CMD of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).

BCCL/ File

What are the allegations against Agnihotri?

The Lokpal court has directed the CBI to "ascertain whether any offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, is made out" against Agnihotri and to submit the probe report to the Lokpal office within six months or before December 12, 2022.

Agnihotri, a 1982-batch IRSE officer was facing multiple allegations including the misuse of official position and diverting funds in an unauthorised manner to a private company.

It is also alleged that Agnihotri took up a job in a private firm within a year of his retirement. This was in violation of government rules which prohibits retired officials from accepting commercial employment before one year of retirement without the Centre's approval.

AFP

Agnihotri who joined NHSRCL in July 2021 has over 20 years of experience in the implementation of mega rail infrastructure projects.

Following the termination of his service, Rajendra Prasad, Director, Projects, NHSRCL has been handed over the charge of MD for three months.

NHSRCL is a joint venture between the Union government and the government of the respective state in which a project is being undertaken.

Bullet train set to miss the deadline

This comes even as the Bullet train, said to be PM Modi's most ambitious infrastructure project is struggling to keep up with the deadline.

A total of 1,434.4 hectares of land will be required for the project including private, government, forest and railway land.

BCCL

Land acquisition for the 155-km rail route in Maharashtra has been stuck in limbo.

As of September 2021, only 30 percent of the required land was acquired by NHSRCL in Maharashtra.

Notably, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was not a big fan of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project and had even termed it a ¡°white elephant¡±.

PM Modi's most ambitious project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then Japan's Premier Shinzo Abe had on September 14, 2017 laid the foundation stone for the ambitious Rs 1.08 lakh crore ($17 billion) project.

AFP/ File Image

The initial deadline to complete the ambitious project was December 2023. The bullet trains are expected to run at 350 km per hour covering the 508-km stretch in about two hours. In comparison, trains currently plying on the route take over seven hours to travel the distance, whereas flights take about an hour.

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