Fadnavis 'exposes' MVA govt's Aarey carshed shifting; says 'project delayed by 4.5 yrs'

As the Maharashtra government comes under attack for keeping religious places shut, ex-CM Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday, continued to attack the Uddhav Thackeray government for its decision to shift the Metro - 3 car shed from Aarey colony to Kanjurmarg. Highlighting the Thackeray-appointed committee's recommendation against it, Fadnavis said Aarey land was the only feasible option to complete the Metro-3 project on time.  The Metro depot which was sanctioned in 2015, was finally started in 2019 and has now come back to ground zero - finalising the site - Kanjurmarg, albeit incurring massive losses to the 6-year-long project.

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Fadnavis 'exposes' Thackeray govt on Aarey shift

Sharing points from the Committee's report, Fadnavis stated that the carshed as planned as a green facility with factors like reducing carbon footprints, solar panels, wastewater treatment & recycling. He added that the Kanjurmarg land was considered in 2015  by his government, but was set aside due to multiple litigations, which it still is ongoing. As per Fadnavis' estimation, the Metro-3 which should have been commissioned in December 2021 will be delayed by 4.5 long years as the Kanjurmarg land will take two years to stabilise.

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Thackeray shifts Aarey car shed to Kanjurmarg

On Sunday, Thackeray announced that the planned Aarey Metro car shed will be relocated from Aarey Colony to Kanjurmarg in Mumbai. After an SC-ordered stay on tree-felling, construction was stayed in the Aarey area, with CM Thackeray assuring that no construction will be done till a decision will be taken on car shed and withdrew cases against protestors against tree-felling on October 2019. Recently, Thackeray announced 800 acres of Aarey land near Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in suburban Mumbai as a 'forest', excluding constructions of all types of roads, slums, Adivasi pockets and government facilities.

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Incidentally in January, a four-member committee appointed by Thackeray - headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Manoj Saunik recommended the lifting of the stay on the construction work of the Metro Rail car shed in Aarey. It also stated that no viable alternative was found to Aarey to build the car shed other than Aarey forest. It had considered a marshy land at Kanjurmarg where a car shed for another Metro line (Jogeshwari-Lokhandwala-Vikhroli-Kanjurmarg) has been proposed and another site just outside the Aarey land (Sariput Nagar) at Jogeshwari, as per reports.