Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday took on the current MVA government once again, accusing it of betraying the trust of Mumbaikars. “The idea of Mumbai Metro 3 Car Shed at Kanjurmarg proposed by Hon CM Uddhav Thackerayji by integrating line 3 & line 6 is already rejected by the expert committee set up by Hon CM himself,” he said in a tweet.
Sharing various “documents’ of the MVA government, Fadnavis reiterated how the Aarey land was the only feasible option to complete the Mumbai Metro project in time, at a reasonable cost and how the environmental impact mitigation made it sustainable.
A few days back, Fadnavis had accused the Thackeray government of taking this decision to shift the Mumbai metro car shed from Aarey to Kanjurmarg just to “satisfy the ego”. He had then said that this move would put an additional burden of Rs 4,000 crore on the Maharashtra government. “Unfortunate decision to shift metro car shed from Aarey to Kanjurmarg and that too just to satisfy the ego. This decision will increase the cost of the project by at least Rs 4,000 crore and this cost escalation is assessed by the committee appointed by this Government,” he had said.
Meanwhile, several activists and environmentalists have welcomed the state government’s decision and sent a letter to Fadnavis for an open debate on the same. They found several holes in his claims at various levels.
The Daily Guardian visited the newly selected site in Kanjurmarg with a 41-acre plot on Eastern Express highway where soil testing work was going on. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has commenced the soil testing work at the Kanjurmarg car shed depot land. Speaking about the challenges, an official said, “No doubt, land is marshy and it will take some time.”
On Wednesday, Maharashtra’s Minister for Tourism and Environment Aaditya Thackrey visited the newly selected site. Taking stock of the site, he tweeted: “This morning, officials of CMO, MMRDA, MMRCL visited the Kanjurmarg plot handed over to MMRDA for the car depot. Metro line 3 & 6 car depots will be made here and increase connectivity with the revised plan. Soil testing has begun already. I joined them to see the plot.”