Small car depot for Mumbai Metro at Aarey Colony gets nod

[related-post]

As per the original plan, the entire car depot was to be located at Aarey Colony affecting 2,298 trees. Activists, environmentalists and politicians across parties objected, prompting Fadnavis to constitute a six-member technical committee. The committee comprised the MMRDA Commissioner, BMC Commissioner, principal secretary of the urban development department, director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, director at NEERI and an IIT-Bombay professor.

The state government will have to hand over land at Kanjurmarg for the car depot to the MMRC within three months. Currently, though government-owned, the land is mired in litigation.

Ashwini Bhide, managing director at MMRC, said, “We can start revising plans for the car depot facility at Aarey Colony and seek fresh clearances for construction. We hope to get the Kanjurmarg land by the time all clearances for the car depot design are in place.”

Fadnavis has also approved the committee’s suggestion of a double-deck car depot at Aarey Colony in case getting the Kanjurmarg land proves difficult or time consuming.

“Although it will help in minimizing environmental damage, the move will put an additional burden of Rs 750 crore on the government’s coffers,” an official from the chief minister’s office said.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com