India's bullet train project is moving at the pace of a commuter train instead.
A year after the project was kicked off, only 0.9 hectares of land have been acquired out of the 1,400 hectares needed, according to the government company leading the project. The $15 billion facility, the highlight of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive to upgrade infrastructure, is facing resistance from farmers unhappy with the compensation for land taken away from them.
The planned 316-mile line linking the financial capital of Mumbai with the economic hub of Ahmedabad -- roughly the distance between Los Angeles and San Francisco -- was meant to be a big leap from the trains of Indian Railways, Asia's oldest network with over 165 years of history. At the current rate of land acquisition, the bullet train built with Japan's 'Shinkansen' technology risks missing its 2023 completion target.
"Land acquisition is a very common problem in India and many projects are delayed, there's no question about that," said Raghbendra Jha, an economics professor at the Australian National University. "I've seen many instances like this."
The protests highlight the challenge PM Modi faces in implementing his flagship projects across railways, ports and airports to cement India's position as world's fastest growing economy. Projects worth Rs. 754 billion ($10.2 billion) were completed in the quarter ended September 2018, less than half of the targeted 2 trillion rupees, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy.
"The project is very high-level and highly visible, publicity-wise," said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political analyst and author of a biography on PM Modi. "If people are beginning to protest, this is going to undermine Mr. Modi's image as someone who can implement things very seamlessly."
For Japanese suppliers to the bullet train such as East Japan Railway Co., Hitachi Ltd. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., the project was a big victory over China's CRRC Corp., Siemens AG and Bombardier Inc. After years of international marketing, India became a rare buyer for the Shinkansen.
A group of farmers affected by the project have petitioned the Gujarat High Court, which has sought the government's stand on the plea on Nov. 22, according to court documents. The farmers have also questioned the government's power to acquire farm land for public-private partnership projects, documents show.
The courts had earlier refused to put the land acquisition process on hold.