Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has announced that the Aarey metro shed project would be relocated to Kanjurmarg and land for the available will be available free of cost.
Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday announced the relocation of the Aarey metro car shed project to Kanjurmarg and land for the available will be available free of cost.
He said, “The land available in Kanjurmarg is govt land and will be available free of cost. The only expenditure made from public money in Aarey for the building will be utilised for some good cause.”
“We have declared 600 acres of Aarey as forest. After our intervention the forest cover has now spread to 800 acres,” said.
In a webcast, he further added, “There will be no infringement on rights of tribals in the Aarey forest.”
“Biodiversity in Aarey needs to be conserved and protected. Nowhere is there an 800-acre jungle in an urban setup. Mumbai has a natural forest cover,” he said.
Cases last year against citizens and environmentalists who protested against the Aarey project and felling of trees in that area have been withdrawn, he said.
The move to relocate the car shed from Aarey came amid reports that the state government was considering if two of the upcoming Metro lines could share maintenance facility.
It had appointed Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to prepare a feasibility study on Metro 3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) sharing its car shed with Line 6 (Vikhroli-Lokhandwala).
There were also reports that Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd officials had expressed apprehension that the Metro Line 3 project may be delayed by three years and its cost may go up by over Rs 2,000 crore if the car shed for the line was shifted from Aarey Colony.
Former Chief Minister and Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis recently said the state governments plan to relocate Metro 3 car shed from Aarey was a reflection of wrong policy.
(With inputs from PTI)