Mumbai Metro depot at BKC will increase project cost: Fadnavis

BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said that talks of setting up the Mumbai Metro 3 car shed at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), a business district in the metropolis, are "ridiculous and childish" as it will increase the project cost multiple times. Any such move will increase the annual maintenance cost by five folds and make the Metro venture non-feasible and non-starter, the former chief minister said.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday stayed the order passed by the Mumbai suburban district collector allotting 102 acres of salt pan land in suburban Kanjurmarg for the construction of an integrated metro car shed. The erstwhile BJP government, headed by Fadnavis, had chosen Aarey Colony, a green belt in Mumbai, for the car shed, part of Mumbai Metro 3 line.

However, the Shiv Sena-led MVA government, after assuming office in November last year, shifted the depot site to Kanjurmarg. After the HC order, there were reports in a section of the media about the state government exploring some other potential sites for the car shed, including BKC.

"The talks of setting up the Metro car shed at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) are ridiculous and childish. The reason is that the BKC is a prized land.

"The last land sold at BKC was at the rate of Rs 1,800 crore per hectare. So, if 25 hectare land is taken at BKC (for the car shed) it would cost Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore," Fadnavis said while talking to journalists at the Nagpur airport.

He said the proposed bullet train station at BKC would be a three-level underground structure and take only 500 meters of land. "It is designed in such a way that financial buildings can be constructed above it without any loss. "But, if we talk about constructing the Metro car shed below the ground, then its cost will go up from Rs 500 crore (envisaged under BJP government) to more than Rs 5,000 crore," the Leader of Opposition in the assembly said.

Besides, its annual maintenance cost would increase five folds and this would make the Metro project non-feasible and non-starter, he said. I am not able to understand who is giving such suggestions to this government. May be someone wants both the government and Maharashtra to sink, said Fadnavis. 

(Image Credits: PTI)