Kanjurmarg setback: MMRDA writes to state for Goregaon land for Mumbai Metro-6

MMRDA has written to the state government to grant the land parcel at Pahadi Goregaon to build the car shed for the Swami Samarth Nagar to Vikhroli line

Following a major setback over the Kanjurmarg plot, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has written to the state government to grant the land parcel at Pahadi Goregaon to build the car shed for Metro-6 (Swami Samarth Nagar to Vikhroli).

On December 16, the HC had stayed the construction of Metro-3 car depot on Kanjurmarg plot. (HT FILE)

According to officials, the land is reserved under Development Plan (DP) 2034. However, it’s a part of the excluded part of the plan, which is pending for approval from the state government. “We have asked the state to allot the land parcel which is reserved for Metro,” said an official from MMRDA, who did not wish to be named.

While the state is keen on building a common car shed for Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz), 4 (Wadala-Kasarvadavali) and 6 at Kanjurmarg, the Bombay high court (HC) has ordered an interim stay on the transfer of 102 acres of land in Kanjurmarg by the suburban collector to MMRDA, after the Central government claimed ownership of the land.

“We cannot let the project suffer owing to legal hurdles. It is better to keep an alternative in place,” the official added. Metro-6 is a 14.5 km under-construction line. For line-4, MMRDA was also looking at a land parcel in Mogharpada in Thane.

The state has also indicated at looking at a land parcel in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) for the Metro-3 car shed which was allotted for the Centre’s Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. In an address to the state on Sunday, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray slammed the Centre for creating hurdles in the project. He also said that the state is ready for a dialogue with the Centre over the issue.

However, an official from the state urban development department (UDD) said that acquiring land in Goregaon will be an expensive affair. The official, who also did not wish to be named, said, “While Kanjurmarg is government land, the land in Goregaon belongs to a private party, which means that the acquisition will be a more expensive affair.” The official added that UDD will now examine the DP again.