Stand for trees: Metro car shed to be shifted from Aarey Colony to Kanjurmarg, says Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has announced that the controversial Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro 3 car shed project will be moved from the eco-sensitive Aarey Milk Colony to Kanjurmarg in Mumbai.

Addressing the media, Thackeray said, "I am happy to announce that Metro 3 car shed will now be made at Kanjurmarg instead of Aarey."

The proposed metro car shed in Aarey has been at the centre of a controversy due to the high number of trees that need to be cut with environmentalists in the past mounting several legal challenges to stall the construction.

In a webcast, Thackeray said the project will be shifted to government land in Kanjurmarg and no cost will be incurred for the purpose. "The land will be available at zero rate," he said.

He said the building which has come up in Aarey forest will be utilised for some other public purpose. "About Rs 100 crore expenditure was incurred for the purpose and it won't go waste," he said.

Thackeray said the government had earlier declared 600 acres of Aarey land as forest but now it has been revised to 800 acres. There will be no infringement on rights of tribals in the Aarey forest, he added.

"Biodiversity in Aarey needs to be conserved and protected. Nowhere is there an 800-acre jungle in an urban setup. Mumbai has a natural forest cover," he said.

Cases last year against citizens and environmentalists who protested against the Aarey project and felling of trees in that area have been withdrawn, he said.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Office announced on September 30 that Thackeray had directed the state's Home Department to start the procedure to withdraw charges against all those who protested against the felling of trees in Aarey Colony last year.

Soon after being sworn in as chief minister, Thackeray announced a stay on construction of the metro car shed in the city's green lung Aarey Colony.

Twenty-nine persons had been arrested on October 5, 2019, following clashes between Mumbai Police and protesters who wanted to stop the felling of trees in Aarey Colony to build a metro car shed.

The directive comes following a request made by Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray at the state cabinet meeting held on September 30. His request was backed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar among other members.

On September 2, Thackeray had declared that 600 acres of the verdant Aarey Milk Colony in the north of Mumbai would be a “reserved forest”, and directed his officers to find alternative sites for the controversial car shed of Mumbai Metro 3 line.

The Aarey forest is located adjacent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and has five lakh trees.