Mumbai Metro-3 car shed: Maharashtra government shifts its ground, set for rough path

The Uddhav Thackeray led-Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) decision to shift Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) car depot from Aarey Colony to Kanjurmarg may be a political

The Uddhav Thackeray led-Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) decision to shift Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) car depot from Aarey Colony to Kanjurmarg may be a political win, but it comes with new challenges and financial burden.

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The 33.5-km underground corridor will now go back to the drawing board, as the line will have to be extended from Seepz to Kanjurmarg by about seven-eight km, officials said.

Bhushan Gagrani, principal secretary, urban development department, said, “It will be an extension from Seepz, but the authorities will work out the technicalities. The Kanjurmarg land has been allocated to the metropolitan authority.”

Another official, who did not wish to be named, said an area of around 43 hectares, free of any litigation, was transferred by the state’s revenue department to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in the first week of October. “Around 18 hectares will be used for the Metro-6 depot and around 25 hectares for the Metro-3 depot. Both lines will be integrated after Seepz. It is a huge area in Kanjurmarg which gives scope for expansion in the future also,” the official said. “After Seepz, Metro-3 will also be elevated and be integrated with line 6, till Kanjurmarg, but a detailed project report (DPR) will be done for Metro-3 extension,” the official added.

While Thackeray said the land will not come at any additional cost as it is owned by the state, the laying of additional track as well as cost overruns for the project will be substantial. Consider this. On an average, cost of laying per km of elevate rail track, as is being considered by planners for the extension, is around ₹200-250 crore per km. The construction of the depot is expected to take around two years, so the deadline for the phase 1 for the corridor (Aarey-Bandra-Kurla Complex), initially slated to be 2021, is likely to get pushed to 2023. A 2017 estimate by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), which is executing Metro-3, had said per day delay costs around ₹4.2 crore. Back of the paper calculations show the time delay will cost the exchequer an additional ₹3,066 crore.

MMRC will also have to seek approvals from the Centre and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the extension. While the Centre holds a stake in MMRC, JICA is funding the entire project worth ₹32,000 crore. Nitin Killawala, an architect who has been demanding underground Metro corridors in the city, had also submitted a plan to the government in 2019 to scrap Metro-6, and instead extend line 3. “The state must consider our plan on Metro-6 too as it is only going to worsen the traffic situation in JVLR. If Metro-3 is extended till Kanjurmarg, it will benefit people from the eastern suburbs and Thane anyway,” he said.