With change in govt, metro car shed returns to Kanjur

The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government in Maharashtra has decided to build a car shed for metro 6 at Kanjur in Kanjurmarg, years after opposition from the BJP and the Central government. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has floated tenders for the ₹506-crore project, which will include various facilities. The 14.477-km elevated line will connect Lokhandwala Complex with Vikhroli and will pass over Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road and the Powai lake with 13 stations. The decision to build the shed in Kanjur was made after the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government stopped construction of the metro 3 car shed in Aarey Milk Colony due to concerns raised by citizens and environment activists.

The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government has decided to build a car shed for metro 6 at Kanjur in Kanjurmarg, years after BJP vehemently opposing the plan and the Central government blocking it on grounds that it owns the allocated land.

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The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has floated tenders for the ₹506-crore project that includes a stabling yard, depot control centre, administrative office, staff quarters, maintenance and workshop buildings, and a substation.

The 14.477-km elevated line will connect Lokhandwala Complex with Vikhroli and will pass over Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road and the Powai lake with 13 stations. Metro 6, which is also called Pink Line or the Swami Samarth Nagar-Jogeshwari-Vikhroli-Kanjurmarg line, offers connectivity with the Western railway at Jogeshwari and the Central Railway at Kanjurmarg.

In 2019, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government headed by Uddhav Thackeray had stopped construction of the metro 3 car shed in Aarey Milk Colony in response to concerns raised by citizens and environment activists. Instead, Thackeray decided to build in Kanjur an integrated shed for several lines, including metro 6.

However, the then leader of the opposition Fadnavis had opposed the plan saying it would lead to cost escalation and delay in construction. The Centre too had expressed its reservation in a letter to the state and said that this land could not be given for the project because it belonged to the government. Later, the Centre approached the Bombay high court staking claim on the land.

Sanjay Mukherjee, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, “The construction of the Kanjurmarg depot, spanning across 15 hectares, will include essential facilities such as 18 stabling lines, workshop, maintenance line, automatic train washing facility, operational control centre, and staff quarters. Once the contractor receives the letter of intent, the project is expected to be completed within a period of 30 months.”

Environmentalist D Stalin from NGO Vanshakti said the finalisation of Kanjur site for metro 6 vindicates the stand of activists who wanted to save Aarey and it also shows that the Kanjur plot was always available for an integrated car shed.

“But in their greed to destroy Aarey, people with vested interests had trees felled there. Kanjurmarg has sufficient land for all metro lines, and it was free from litigation. A false litigation was, however, created to misguide people. The truth is out now,” he said.

After the Shinde-Fadnavis government took over, the case filed by the union government was quietly withdrawn, he claimed. “We had also intervened in the case.”