Mumbai Metro-3 car shed: Why pick Aarey if experts favoured Kanjurmarg, Congress questions Fadnavis government’s move

In a fresh round of clash between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party has asked why former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis chose Aarey

In a fresh round of clash between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party has asked why former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis chose Aarey Colony over Kanjurmarg, even after an expert committee was in favour of the latter. The BJP has, however, questioned if it was an attempt of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, comprising Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress, to open up the saltpan land for its transfer to private parties and developers.

HT Image

Maharashtra Congress general secretary and spokesperson Sachin Sawant said the Fadnavis government had been misleading the people of the city, by saying that Kanjurmarg land was under dispute. He said the government machinery has time and again clarified that the piece of land belongs to the state and there was no dispute pending.

He said constructing the car shed at Kanjurmarg was originally the Fadnavis government’s plan, which was being implemented by the MVA government. Sawant has also questioned shifting the proposed shed to Aarey Colony.

“The fact that the 102-acre land at Kanjurmarg belongs to the state government was endorsed by Mumbai suburban collector, divisional commissioner of Konkan and then revenue minister Chandrakant Patil as the quasi-judicial authorities between 2014 and 2018. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had written to the collector in September 2015 for allotment of the land for the car shed. The expert committee appointed by the Fadnavis government had recommended integration of Metro line 3 and 6 by setting up a car shed at Kanjurmarg. A tender for the entry ramp at Kanjurmarg was also floated in 2018 by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The Fadnavis government kept claiming falsely that the shed at Kanjurmarg will lead to an additional burden of ₹5,000 crore,” he said.

BJP leader and former minister Ashish Shelar, however, rubbished the allegations. “Only after our government realised that it was not possible to vacate the stay on the transfer that we decided to go to the car shed at Aarey. The expert committee headed by Manoj Saunik had recommended the alternative of the Aarey land for the car shed. The shifting of the shed to Kanjurmarg will delay the Metro project by more than four more years as two years will be required to level the land and two more for the actual construction. This will also result in escalation of the project cost by ₹4,000 crore,” he said.

Shelar alleged the decision of the transfer of land for the government project will also make way for transfer of other plots to private parties.

“Such transfer of salt pan land costing at least ₹50,000 crore will prove beneficial to private persons and developers. This is the beginning of a huge land scam,” he said.

Shelar has also dared environment minister Aaditya Thackeray for a debate on the issue.