Maharashtra govt to shift metro car shed project back to Aarey Colony: Sources

According to sources, the Maharashtra government is relocating the metro car shed project back to Aarey Colony.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday, shortly after taking oath of office, ordered government's legal team to inform the Bombay High Court that the state will relocate the metro car shed to Aarey Colony, sources told India Today.

Earlier, former CM Uddhav Thackeray had ordered the relocation of the metro car shed from Aarey to Kanjurmarg.

But what is the controversy surrounding the metro car shed? The Aarey Colony, measuring 1,287 hectares and located adjacent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, is known as the major green lung of Mumbai. In 2019, the BJP-Shiv Sena government was looking to construct a shed at the site for its ongoing metro project.

Citizens and green activists approached the Bombay High Court against this move. But within hours of the high court dismissing these petitions seeking a stay on tree felling, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (MMRCL) started the tree cutting.

The Bombay civic body had granted the metro authorities permission to fell as many as 2,700 trees. Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation defended tree felling by contending that it is restricted only to a small area in Aarey Colony and is necessary to ensure a modern transport system for Mumbaikars.

There were also reports that Mumbai Metro Rail 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.

But when protests grew, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which came to power in 2019, decided to shift the project to Kanjurmarg and declared almost 812 acres of land, part of Aarey Colony, as a reserve forest.