Govt shifts Metro car shed, saves Charkop mangroves : The Times of India

Mumbai:



In a major victory for environmental activists, the state government has decided to shift the site of one of the depots for Metro II from a Charkop plot partly covered by mangroves to Malwani in Malad.

The new site is a plot that had been given by the state government to the Manjara Charitable Trust (MCT; runs several educational institutes), set up by the late Congress chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. It will be used to build the Metro II car shed as well as for commercial activities. The 48.33 acres of unencroached flat land is located right behind the Atharva Educational Trust, set up by the late BJP leader Gopinath Munde. Nitin Kareer, principal secretary , urban development department, said the government has issued a notification in this regard. “The revenue department has been asked to resolve the issue (of taking back the land) before finalizing the car shed.Whether they (the MCT) should be given land at an alternative location is for the department to decide.“

The notification issued by the state urban development department mentions that the land was reserved in the 1991 Development Plan for a recreation ground, government staff quarters, government offices, a court and court housing, a school for the mentally disabled, housing for the Blind Men's Association, integrated healthcare and training centres, a parking lot and roads. It now wants to change the reservation to Metromono car depot and allied use, and for commercial purposes.

The original Metro II line from Charkop to Mankhurd via Bandra (32 km with 27 stations) ran into trouble as its two depots at Charkop (on 29 acres) and Mankhurd were marked on mangrove land.The Union environment ministry had given conditional clearance, allowing the depot to be built on stilts, and did not allow washing of cars at the site. Also, residents of Ju hu and Bandra strongly op posed the Metro's over ground alignment.

The new Metro II is pro posed along Dahisar-Char kop-Bandra-Mankhurd, a length of 40 km. It will be fully underground and is expected to benefit 21 lakh passengers.

Transport activist A V Shenoy said the government must give priority to Metro II as besides benefiting a large number of people in the sub urbs, it would make north south and also east-west travel easy.

As for the Metro III car shed, Kareer said the committee will hold a final meeting and submit its report to the government by the month-end. Given the opposition to the car shed at Aarey, the committee is looking at alternatives proposed by citizens. They include salt pan land in Kanjurmarg and slum relocation-cum-reclamation in Colaba.