Shinde govt gives nod to build metro car shed in Kanjurmarg

The Eknath Shinde government has decided to build a car shed for metro 6 at Kanjur in Kanjurmarg, years after BJP vehemently opposing the plan and the Central government blocking it on grounds that it owns the allocated land. According to a Hindustan Times report, (MMRDA) has floated tenders for the ₹506-crore project that includes a stabling yard, depot control centre, administrative office, staff quarters, maintenance and workshop buildings, and a substation.

The 14.477-km elevated line will connect Lokhandwala Complex with Vikhroli and will pass over Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road and the Powai lake with 13 stations. Metro 6, which is also called Pink Line or the Swami Samarth Nagar-Jogeshwari-Vikhroli-Kanjurmarg line, offers connectivity with the Western railway at Jogeshwari and the Central Railway at Kanjurmarg.In 2019, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government headed by Uddhav Thackeray had stopped construction of the metro 3 car shed in Aarey Milk Colony in response to concerns raised by citizens and environment activists. Instead, Thackeray decided to build in Kanjur an integrated shed for several lines, including metro 6.However, the then leader of the opposition Fadnavis had opposed the plan saying it would lead to cost escalation and delay in construction. The Centre too had expressed its reservation in a letter to the state and said that this land could not be given for the project because it belonged to the government. Later, the Centre approached the Bombay high court staking claim on the land.

The construction of the above-mentioned car shed for the underground Metro 3 rail project was initially proposed at Aarey, the 1,800-odd acres of green space in suburban Goregaon of Mumbai. However, this place is considered the last green lung of the city as well. Since 2014, there has been an ongoing tussle between the state government and environmentalists over the shed as a result.

Authorities from the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), a joint venture between the Centre and the Maharashtra government, which is in charge of the project, cut down 2,656 trees in the location for the construction of the car shed in October 2019. The Tree Authority of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation authorised the cutting down of the trees. As a result, residents and green activists took out massive protests in several parts, who believed that Aarey needed to be saved in a concretised city like Mumbai. As per them, Aarey is also an extension of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, and the Metro shed might cause more commercial exploitation of the area.