MVA vs Centre tussle intensifies as both lay claim to Kanjurmarg Metro 3 car shed site

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The political war between the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra and the Centre has escalated further with the latter laying claim to Mumbai's planned Kanjurmarg 3 car Metro shed. Ruling coalition in Maharashtra on November 3 slammed the BJP saying the land belongs to the state.

State minister Nawab Malik accused the opposition of conspiring to stall the project through the Union government. Meanwhile, BJP MLA Ashish Shelar hit back saying the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government was creating a "delusion" about its functioning and slowing down major infrastructure projects.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recently sent a letter to the state government saying construction of the controversial car shed in Kanjurmarg would be "against the interest of Government of India."

Malik said that the concerned salt pan land belongs to the state and the project will take shape on that site only. "Initially, people in the BJP said it is private land. Now, the Centre is saying (in the letter) that the salt pan land belongs to it," Malik said.

"The Kanjurmarg car shed will merge two lines of Mumbai, a car shed that will benefit 20 lakh people. It is clear now that the BJP has started conspiring on how to stop it through the Centre," alleged Malik.

NCP's Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule also insisted that the land belongs to Maharashtra. "It is unfortunate. The Centre is intervening in the development of Maharashtra. This is an injustice to Maharashtra," she said.

However, BJP MLA Shelar, in a statement, questioned the state government's intention to shift the Metro 3 car shed to the Kanjurmarg land. The land in question comes under the jurisdiction of the salt commissioner, a central government functionary, said Shelar.

There is no information in the public domain that the state has received this piece of land from the department concerned (DPIIT) for construction of the Metro-3 car shed, the BJP leader said.

"Is there any hidden agenda of the state on salt pans in the name of shifting the car shed to Kanjurmarg? It looks like this government is creating a delusion about its functioning and, in fact, slowing down major infrastructure projects," Shelar alleged.

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil said the land in question, a salt pan, indeed belongs to the Central government. Patil said former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has been repeatedly saying that the Kanjurmarg land not only belongs to the Central government but it is also a salt pan.

All salt pans are property of the central government, said Patil, who was a minister in the Fadnavis cabinet.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray said that the land allotted for Metro car shed in suburban Kanjurmarg has always been with the Maharashtra government as per revenue records and the project work will continue as decided earlier.

The MMRDA will therefore carry on with its work for Metro joint Car Depots at Kanjurmarg as earlier decided. (2/2)

— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) November 3, 2020

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray last month announced the scrapping of the Metro-3 car shed at the Aarey Colony in suburban Goregaon. He had said that the project would be shifted to government land in Kanjurmarg and no cost will be incurred for the purpose.

Soon after, senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis termed the decision as "unfortunate." The former chief minister also said this decision was taken only to satisfy someone's ego which will escalate the cost of the project by at least Rs 4,000 crore.

The previous Fadnavis-led BJP government had finalised land in the Aarey Colony, Mumbai's green lung, for the car shed.