Mumbai Metro-3 car shed: Aarey was chosen to commercially exploit forest land, says Congress

The Maharashtra Congress has alleged that the previous state government led by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Devendra Fadnavis had deliberately chosen Aarey for

The Maharashtra Congress has alleged that the previous state government led by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Devendra Fadnavis had deliberately chosen Aarey for the construction of the Metro-3 car shed so that the forest land could be commercially exploited.

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The current Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had recently shifted the car shed project to Kanjurmarg.

According to state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant, though only 20 hectares (ha) were needed for the project, the then government set aside 62ha land at Aarey. “The rest of the 42-ha land was to be commercially exploited,” said Sawant.

He also accused the previous government of falsehood. “The then government had falsely claimed that the Kanjurmarg plot would have cost the state ₹5,000 crore. The private litigant [who petitioned the court against the project at Aarey] had himself claimed that no cost will incur for the land [at Kanjurmarg],” said Sawant.

Rubbishing the claims, the BJP called the allegations a “diversionary tactic”. “The decision will only increase the costs as well as delay the whole project. From the past 10 months, the Metro project is stuck owing to the inefficiency of the MVA government and they are creating roadblocks. It is the citizens who will be affected by this move,” said BJP legislator Ram Kadam.

Since November 2014, the project at Aarey had created uproar after a proposal to build a car shed for the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro line was proposed by the government. The state’s decision to axe 2,298 trees for the project had witnessed widespread protests. After coming to power, the MVA government last year decided that no trees would be felled any further for the project and later decided to shift the car shed to Kanjurmarg.