Metro-3 car shed: State panel studying alternative sites likely to seek extension

The committee appointed by the state to explore alternative sites for the Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) car shed is likely to seek an extension to submit its report.

The committee appointed by the state to explore alternative sites for the Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) car shed is likely to seek an extension to submit its report.

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The government had on December 11 appointed a committee to identify viable alternatives to the car shed site at Aarey Colony. The committee was expected to submit its report in two weeks, which end on December 25.

A committee member said they might have to seek an extension as they are yet to visit some more sites. “Some of the committee members were also at the winter session of the state Legislative Assembly in Nagpur. We will have a meeting on Monday or Tuesday to decide the course of action,” the member said.

Last week, some of the committee members had visited Aarey Colony and two potential car shed sites at Jogeshwari and Kanjurmarg. The plot in Jogeshwari was recently recommended by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Mumbai unit chief, Nawab Malik. The Kanjurmarg plot was recommended by environmentalists, but the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) has said that there is a legal dispute over it.

Apart from looking for alternate sites at a reasonable cost, the panel has also been directed to examine if MMRC had followed due procedure while felling 2,100 trees for the Metro-3 car shed construction at Aarey.

Station name rights for Metro-3

MMRC will soon issue an expression of interest for naming rights of 27 underground stations on the Metro-3 corridor, along the lines of the Metro-1 (Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar) corridor, as means of increasing non-fare revenue. Stations on Metro-1 line have brand names as the suffix or prefix.