Mmrc confused, metro car shed shouldn't be shifted to royal palms: ngos

Stalin D, director of projects at NGO Vanashakti, which has filed a plea in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in this regard, said that right from the start, MMRC has seemed confused and

unclear about the project. For representation purpose only Calling Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) "confused" and "unclear" about the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro III

project, NGOs opposing the Metro car shed inside the Aarey Colony said they were completely against the idea of the car shed being shifted to the Royal Palms as well. Over 37 organisations,

including Aarey Conservation Group (ACG) and Save Aarey Community, have planned to organise a human chain formation to raise a voice against the proposed Metro car shed in Aarey. The 37

groups have come together to form the Apna Mumbai Abhiyaan (APA) to protect city's natural resources. Stalin D, director of projects at NGO Vanashakti, which has filed a plea in the

National Green Tribunal (NGT) in this regard, said that right from the start, MMRC has seemed confused and unclear about the project. Initially, they wanted 30 hectares for the car shed.

Then they went on to file an affidavit to NGT, saying they required 20.82 hectares. Now, all of a sudden, they are demanding 62 hectares, said Stalin. "We can't understand what the

MMRC is up to. It is shocking that despite having two proper alternatives in the form of Kanjurmarg and Kalina, the MMRC officials seem to not even studying it. But, they are keen to

consider Royal Palms," he said, adding that they could not understand why they were only after the Aarey Colony. "We have been clarifying that we are not against the Metro project.

All we are protesting against is the construction of a car shed in Aarey. In fact, we are also against the recent proposal of shifting the car shed to Royal Palms inside Aarey, as it will

still affect the environment. Both these areas are part of the Environmentally Sensitive Zones (ESZ)," said Manish Gadia of the Save Aarey Community. Priya Mishra of ACG alleged the

MMRCL has also misrepresented facts. "Kalina and Aarey were shortlisted. Kalina was found to be more suitable on all parameters, but Aarey was finalised on the basis of the plot size.

The area of these plots was calculated on the basis of online mapping. No survey was conducted," she said, adding that independent mapping revealed that false figures were quoted to

justify the choice of Aarey for the depot. "The size quoted in the detailed project report (DPR) for Kalina was 20 hectares, while for Aarey it was 34.3 hectares. But the actual size

found independently was 26 hectares for Kalina and, surprisingly, only 27 hectares for Aarey," said Mishra, adding that there was no reason to not choose Kalina, but MMRC went on to

state that the depots must be located at the terminal end. Again, we found that there was no such rule anywhere. Meanwhile, Stalin opined that Kanjurmarg was the best option, as there was

enough land and also no major environmental concerns. "The car shed has to be made somewhere. We all are demanding that it be constructed at a location where there is least destruction

to the environment. Kanjurmarg fits the bill. Also, given the space, it could serve as a perfect hub to connect it to various modes of transport," he said, adding that they were also

looking forward to the NGT hearing next month.