Not Aarey Colony, Kanjurmarg to house Metro-3 car shed: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray

The Metro-3 car shed proposed at Aarey Milk Colony stands scrapped and will now be moved to Kanjurmarg in the eastern suburbs, announced Maharashtra chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday. The decision brought to an end, for now, a six-year battle of wills marked by political rows, citizen protests, court petitions, tree-felling by authorities in the dead of night and subsequent arrests of activists who protested construction in “one of the last green lungs of Mumbai”.

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“I am happy to announce that the Aarey car shed is now being moved to Kanjurmarg. The plot in Kanjurmarg is government land and it will be provided at zero cost for Metro car shed. The money used to construct a building, ₹100 crore, will not go to waste either. That building will be used for public purpose,” Thackeray said. The CM’s announcement, during his webcast address to the state, was on expected lines, given that his party, Shiv Sena, had been opposing the car shed at Aarey even when it was in power with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Before the 2019 Assembly elections, Sena had announced it would not allow a car shed in Aarey Colony and had made this a part of its election manifesto.

Meanwhile, former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, of the BJP, called the move driven by ego, which would shoot the cost up by ₹4,000 crore and lead to indefinite delays.

Thackeray, on Sunday, said that two Metro corridors — Colaba-Bandra-Seepz (Metro-3) and Swami Samarth Nagar-Vikhroli (Metro-6) — will be integrated. With the decision to move the depot from the 33 hectares (ha) plot in Aarey to the 43ha site in Kanjurmarg, the underground Metro project is set to see cost overruns and time delays (see box)

The CM on Sunday also reiterated that the government has decided to withdraw cases lodged by the police against citizens and activists who had protested against the car shed at Aarey Colony. On September 30, environment minister Aaditya Thackeray raised the issue of cases against those who protested the tree hacking in Aarey last year, in the cabinet meeting. Subsequently, the cabinet decided to withdraw the cases.

The CM said the government had earlier declared 600 acres of Aarey land as reserve forest, but now it has been increased to 800 acres. He said that the will be no infringement of rights of tribals in the area.

“Biodiversity in Aarey needs to be conserved and protected. Nowhere is there an 800-acre jungle in an urban set-up. Mumbai has a natural forest cover. We know that jungles are converted to cities, but here, the city is converted to a jungle. We need to preserve what we have and carry out development in the remaining area,” he said.

Following the announcement, Aaditya Thackeray tweeted, “Aarey Saved!”. While Sena leaders and functionaries hailed the government over “fulfilment” of the given word, the BJP slammed it. Fadnavis said the decision was made to “satisfy ego” and it would lead to serious cost escalations and indefinite delays. The shift will cost Rs4,000 crore, he said, in a series of tweets.

“Unfortunate decision to shift Metro Car Shed from Aarey to Kanjurmarg and that, too, just to satisfy ego. This decision will increase the cost of the project by at least ₹4000 crore and this cost escalation is assessed by the committee appointed by this Government. Why such a huge burden just to satisfy someone’s ego? Whom does government want to suffer and for what?” He added, “This means that the Metro project, which would have been in the service of Mumbaikars just next year, has now been postponed indefinitely. ₹400 crore was already spent for Aarey Car Shed,₹1,300 crore wasted due to staying of project & additional cost escalation of ₹4,000 crore”

Fadnavis, who also held the urban development department portfolio while he was the CM, added that the previous government had studied the possibility of Kanjurmarg plot for Metro-3 depot, but decided against it as it was under litigation. “The Kanjurmarg site was earlier considered by the government. But it was under litigation and stayed by Hon HC. Some private individuals claimed their rights. The stay was requested to be withdrawn. But Hon HC wanted the amount to be deposited if the claims got settled in future,” he said.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) welcomed the decision and said that the Sena kept its poll promise. A statement from AAP’s Mumbai unit said that “united citizenry always triumphs”.