MMRDA shelves Metro 9 car depot at Uttan-Dongri

Under the redrawn plan, Metro 9’s rakes will instead be stationed at the Charkop car depot, which currently services lines 2A (Dahisar East to Andheri West) and 7 (Dahisar East to Gundavali).

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has shelved its plan to set up a car depot for Metro 9 at Uttan-Dongri following resistance from local residents, officials said on Tuesday. The authority is now redrawing its car depot plans for the 11.38-km corridor linking Dahisar East with Mira-Bhayandar.

Mumbai, India - June 22, 2025: Residents of 10 villages of Uttan, Mira Bhayandar have organised a meeting today to stop the felling of 1046 trees to make space for the Dongri metro car shed. Out of the total trees 832 will be axed and 574 will are to be transplanted from Gorai, Dongri, Manori and other coastal villages in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, June 22, 2025. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

According to MMRDA officials, under the redrawn plan, Metro 9’s rakes will instead be stationed at the Charkop car depot, which currently services lines 2A (Dahisar East to Andheri West) and 7 (Dahisar East to Gundavali). Once the entire Metro 2 corridor (Dahisar East to Mandale via Bandra Kurla Complex) becomes operational, it will have a dedicated depot at Mandale, which is ready.

“Respecting the public sentiments and their opposition to the car depot, we have decided not to proceed with the creation of a metro car depot at Uttan-Dongri,” said a senior MMRDA official. “We have almost finalised an alternative plan on car depots for the multiple metro routes that are ready and in the works.”

The Metro 9 project was first announced in 2016. However, progress has been repeatedly delayed due to opposition over car depot locations and other land acquisition hurdles.

Four years ago, MMRDA had finalised 32 hectares of land for the depot in the Rai, Morva and Murdha villages in Bhayandar. However, residents had opposed the move, fearing loss of livelihood as the project involved building the metro facility on agricultural land.

In 2024, MMRDA officials went back to the drawing board and focused on Uttan-Dongri, aiming to establish a larger depot on a hillock spanning 59.65 hectares and extending the route by 5.5 km. However, this plan was also opposed by residents of the region. A formal approval from the MMRDA’s authority and executive committee for shelving the Uttan-Dongri plan is still pending, officials said.

Sharmila Bagaji, an Uttan resident and former councillor, told HT that they haven’t heard from the authorities about any such plans of dropping the car depot project. “We have filed our objections with the authorities, though, to record our protest. If the government is shelving the plans, it brings a big relief to us, and it is the collective people’s efforts that have been heard,” she said.

The decision, once confirmed, is being seen as a victory for residents, who began protests earlier this year against the proposed felling and transplantation of 11,306 trees for the car depot. Ironically, on June 5—World Environment Day—the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) approved the removal of 1,406 trees from the depot site. A few days later, some trees were axed at the land parcel, leading to protests intensifying.

Residents had then approached political leaders in the Maharashtra government, urging them to preserve the area’s ecosystem. On June 21, MMRDA put its tree-felling decision on hold.

Back in July 2024, MMRDA had awarded the car depot construction contract, worth ₹733.24 crore, to a joint venture of Rithwik Projects and Soma Enterprise; this contract will now be terminated.

The shelved depot plan had included an operations control centre, a 690-metre test track with platforms, a stabling shed with 20 lines and an option to add 18 more, a workshop area with three lines, an inspection shed with four lines, a receiving substation, and two auxiliary substations.

The Maharashtra government aims to start passenger services on a portion of Metro 9 by December. The stretch between Dahisar East and Kashigaon will open first, with the remaining section expected to be ready within a year.

“Presently, trains are being brought from the Charkop car depot to undertake trial runs up to Kashigaon. The same arrangement can continue even after making the route open for the public,” said another MMRDA official.

For other upcoming metro corridors, MMRDA plans to build car depots at Kanjurmarg for line 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar to Vikhroli) and at Mogharpada on Ghodbunder Road for lines 4 (Kasarvadavali to Wadala via Ghatkopar) and 4A (Kasarvadavali to Gaimukh).