Checking if bullet train could be deferred: Maha govt

Days after newly appointed Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray ordered a review of the bullet train project, a senior minister said amid a whopping debt of Rs 6.71 crore, the government will check if it could be deferred.

The Rs 1.10 lakh-crore bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is the pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We are reviewing now what projects are critical for the development of the state and whether others like bullet train project can be deferred for a later stage,” Cabinet minister Jayant Patil said.

According to Patil, a former Finance Minister in the erstwhile Democratic Front government, Maharashtra's burden includes Rs.4.71 lakh-crore debt besides the obligation of another Rs.2 lakh-crore on ongoing projects.