MUMBAI: Environmental activists have reason to cheer as the expert committee appointed by the chief minister has reportedly recommended shifting the car depot for the Metro 3 project from Aarey Colony to Kanjurmarg. The committee has found a salt pan land at Kanjurmarg, which is under a legal dispute, for construction of the depot for the project.
Sources said the committee has also recommended merging the Metro 3, which has been planned from Colaba to Seepz, with the proposed JVLR-Kanjurmarg metro line.
Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) had been allotted 30 hectares of land at Aarey Colony for the depot. Now, it will require about 40 hectares in Kanjurmarg as the number of metro rakes will increase to 55, after the two metro lines merge.
The MMRC has, however, requested the committee to allot a small portion of land at Aarey Colony. “We will need a little land at Aarey to park some metro rakes as we cannot take the operational risk of keeping all rakes at Kanjurmarg, which is about 40km from Colaba. We want a small piece of land at Aarey, which does not have trees, for a stabling yard,” said a source close to the project.
Environmental activists welcomed the development. “The move will not just save biodiversity at Aarey Colony but will extend the benefits of the metro project to people living along the JVLR,” said Rishi Agarwal, environmentalist.
In the first week of March, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had appointed the committee following opposition from locals, nature lovers and political parties to chopping trees at Aarey Colony for the construction of a metro depot.
“The elevated JVLRKanjurmarg line will cost around Rs2,000 crore, which the state government can raise easily. And, we have already secured a loan for Rs23,156 crore for the Metro 3 line. All we need is a few administrative approvals before work starts,” said the source.
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