Thane plot to be given to MMRDA for four metro route car sheds

In June, several residents of Mogharpada had opposed the construction of the car shed, demanding that the administration compensate the locals before proceeding with the work. A group of local villagers staged a protest in front of the Thane revenue office when revenue and MMRDA officers visited the site prior to the monsoon

MUMBAI: The state cabinet will soon pass a proposal to grant 71.04 hectares of land at Mogharpada in Thane to MMRDA to construct car sheds for four metro routes. This will speed up the process of the metro construction.

After becoming chief minister, Eknath Shinde has been trying to put the Metro 4 project on the fast track, as it will connect his constituency in Thane with Mumbai. (HT Photo)

The plot is located in Survey No 30 and will house car sheds for Metro 4 connecting Wadala to Kasarwadavli, Metro 4A connecting Kasarwadavli to Gaimukh, Metro 10 from Gaimukh to Shivaji Chowk in Mira Road and Metro 12 from Kalyan to Taloja.

Metro 4 is the longest metro in Mumbai and is over 32 km long. The construction work has suffered on account of there not being a car shed, and only 43 percent of the civil work is complete. The metro has missed several deadlines. MMRDA commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee and his predecessor S V R Srinivas had been pursuing the state to allocate this plot.

After becoming chief minister, Eknath Shinde has been trying to put the Metro 4 project on the fast track, as it will connect his constituency in Thane with Mumbai.

The Mogharpada plot belongs to the state. It was used for agricultural purposes and was leased out to 167 lessees. It is located next to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and close to Ghodbunder Road.

In June, several residents of Mogharpada had opposed the construction of the car shed, demanding that the administration compensate the locals before proceeding with the work. A group of local villagers staged a protest in front of the Thane revenue office when revenue and MMRDA officers visited the site prior to the monsoon.

The local Shiv Sena functionaries, who had been supporting the villagers, wrote to then MMRDA commissioner SVR Srinivas, requesting him to halt the process. The occupiers of the land are likely to get 22.5 per cent of the developed land as compensation, a policy designed on the lines of CIDCO’s policy.

In August, MMRDA obtained land for a car shed for the proposed Metro Line 12, which will run from Kalyan to Taloja at Niljepada. The Thane collector transferred 47 hectares of land at Niljepada to MMRDA for the depot. The land in Thane is free, and the order to give it to MMRDA as Occupant Class-II was issued through district collector Ashok Shingare.