Vilasrao trust land not part of Metro-II car shed

Mumbai: Excluding the area leased to the Manjara Charitable Trust and that reserved for a court of law and housing for court staff, the state government has finalized an area of 40.5 acres or 16.4 hectares at Malwani, Malad West, for the Metro-II line car shed.
While seeking the plot, MMRDA had said the area (2.3 hectares) leased to Manjara Charitable Trust and another 8,000 square metres for a court and court housing can be excluded.The trust was set up by former Congress chief minister, the late Vilasrao Deshmukh. Amit Deshmukh, his son and MLA from Latur, had offered to give the land for the metro car shed, provided the government made available a similar plot.
The original plot size was 19.56 hectares; after exclusion of these three reservations, it is now 16.4 hectares. This 16.4 hectares has been set aside for the Metro-II car shed.
The encumbrance-free land, owned by the government, was reserved for a recreation ground, government offices, staff quarters, an education complex, an institute of geo-magnetism, a school for the mentally challenged, housing for the Blindmen’s Association, an integrated healthcare and training centre, a parking lot and development plan (DP) roads. All these reservations have been deleted and the area has been reserved for a car shed, allied users and commercial purposes. MMRDA will carry out development of the reservation, stated the notification issued by the state urban development department last week.