Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray today in the second part of his interview to Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ likened the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project to a “white elephant”, saying a decision on it will be taken after he is convinced it will boost industrial development of the state.

“Who will benefit from the bullet train? How will trade and industry in Maharashtra get a boost because of it? If it is useful, convince me and then let’s go before people and decide what to do,” the chief minister said.

“The bullet train may be a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but when you wake up, it is not a dream, you have to face the reality,” he said.

Developmental projects need to be prioritised considering the state’s financial situation, Thackeray said in the interview to Saamana’s executive editor Sanjay Raut.

“We have to see what is urgent and not take up something because we are getting loan at zero interest or less interest. We acquire farmers’ land for no reason and then look after these white elephants. This is not right,” he said.

Meanwhile, in reply to related question while conversing with media persons, Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel said, ‘rolling out the bullet train project necessary. Uddhav Thackeray should study the project and he will also realize that this is not a project of Gujarat or Maharashtra but a national project. Japan government has assisted for many development projects of Gujarat as well as Maharashtra.’

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has set the deadline of completing the bullet train project by August 15, 2022, when India marks 75 years of Independence. The introduction of the first bullet train, which is known as the Shinkansen in Japan, is expected to mark India’s shift to an era of high-speed trains capable of hitting speeds of up to 350 km per hour.

Of the 508.17-km-long bullet train corridor, 155.76 km will be in Maharashtra, 348.04 km in Gujarat and 4.3 km in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.