Leader of Bharatiya Janata Party and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday that a report submitted by a committee appointed by the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had rejected proposals to shift the Metro-3 (Colaba-Seepz) car depot from Aarey Milk Colony to Kanjurmarg because it would result in delays and a huge escalation in cost.
On October 11, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced that the Metro-3 car shed would be shifted from Aarey Milk Colony to Kanjurmarg. He said the land for the car shed would be made available at zero rate. The plan is to integrate the line for Metro-3 with line for Metro-6 (Swami Samarth Nagar-Vikhroli) before the proposed Saki Vihar station, after which it will be a common elevated corridor till the Kanjurmarg depot.
On Wednesday, Fadnavis criticised this decision on social media. “Our earlier Government in 2015 considered the Kanjurmarg option but due to delays & multiple litigations, it was finally decided to give up,” he tweeted, adding, “CM Hon Uddhav Thackeray ji says this is a ‘NO-COST’ proposition, but I would say this is a NO-METRO proposition.” He also shared a series of snapshots from a report submitted by a committee appointed in December 2019, which was tasked with suggesting alternate sites for the Metro-3 car shed.
In the report submitted in January, the committee concluded that integrating the lines for Metro-3 and Metro-6 would result in a huge escalation in cost; delay Metro works, and require substantial changes in design and system of both lines. The committee had also pointed out that shifting the depot to Kanjurmarg could lead to “operational complexities” on Metro-6 and “hamper the frequency of operations of both line 3 and line 6”. The report also stated that work on line 6 will have to be suspended immediately to revise the design. State minister for tourism and environment Aaditya Thackeray had said at the time that the committee’s recommendations are not binding on the state.
{{/usCountry}}In the report submitted in January, the committee concluded that integrating the lines for Metro-3 and Metro-6 would result in a huge escalation in cost; delay Metro works, and require substantial changes in design and system of both lines. The committee had also pointed out that shifting the depot to Kanjurmarg could lead to “operational complexities” on Metro-6 and “hamper the frequency of operations of both line 3 and line 6”. The report also stated that work on line 6 will have to be suspended immediately to revise the design. State minister for tourism and environment Aaditya Thackeray had said at the time that the committee’s recommendations are not binding on the state.
{{/usCountry}}Senior officials from Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), said only the platform size of six stations would need to be tweaked as the common line will also have to cater to Metro-3’s eight-coach trains as opposed to six-coach trains designed for line 6. Metro authorities estimate the construction of the proposed car depot would require a minimum of two years.
RA Rajeev, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA, said, “We have studied the plans and system integration is possible.”
The per day cost of delay in executing Metro-3 is calculated at around Rs 5.87 crore. Delay in operation by 2.5 years would work out to Rs 5,356 crore, while a delay of four years would mean another Rs 8,570 crore. As per the agreement between the government of India, state government and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), cost escalation in Metro-3 works must be borne by the Maharashtra government.
State officials said the land allotted in Kanjurmarg to MMRDA is litigation-free and has been inspected by the environment minister and officials from MMRDA and the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC).
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