Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA’s) plan to take away a portion of Pratiksha Nagar BEST bus depot for setting up the inter-state bus terminal seems to have hit a roadblock. The terminal is part of the larger Wadala master plan.
A section of the BEST standing committee members on Tuesday lodged a protest against giving BEST property to the MMRDA. Member Ravi Raja said, “On one hand, we are working on increasing our depots in Mumbai, but on the other, senior officials from the MMRDA and BEST are together visiting Pratiksha Nagar and Anik bus depots to part with the plot.”
According to the opposing members, with the city’s population increasing and Wadala being proposed as a transport hub, the BEST should keep every inch of the land parcel with itself as need is likely to arise in the future to expand bus operations connecting Wadala.
However, BEST administration said on Tuesday that till now the MMRDA has not come up with any formal request, asking that it be given Pratiksha Nagar bus depot so that it can be integrated with the Wadala master plan that it is preparing with the help of a private consultant.
A senior MMRDA official said they do have plans to utilise part of Pratiksha Nagar so that the terminal can come up. Therefore, Pratiksha Nagar and Anik bus depots may have to merge for operations, which will mean less space available to operate and maintain the fleet.
Another committee member, Shivji Singh, said, “Land should be exchanged with another land parcel instead of just giving away the plot. The BEST should try to get plots outside Greater Mumbai civic limits, like Mira Road and Thane, to set up bus depots there.”
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