While construction at the Aarey Colony for the Metro 3 car shed has officially been halted since late last year, the Uddhav Thackeray led State Government is now looking to clear out this area for good. One of the contractors hired by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) for the proposed car shed has reportedly begun clearing out construction equipment from the region, signalling an end to the Aarey controversy.
Speaking to TOI, Project Director of MMRCL, S K Gupta said - “Now, no new work is being carried out. We are simply removing the materials. We stopped work, but there is a lot of material that had been brought in by the contractor. These are now being moved to another site.”
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He added that there were around 150 workers when the work originally began at the location and that the number has now shrunk to 30. However, Gupta refused to provide a deadline for the complete removal of materials from the site. Items like scaffoldings, shuttering, steel reinforcements, and construction-related debris are currently being removed from the region.
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Activists belonging to the Aarey Conservation Group have kept an eye on the site since the controversy emerged last year, and have mentioned that work was underway at the site until last week. However, it is said that the authorities were working on a ramp so as to allow the underground metro to pass on to Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road after reaching Andheri Seepz and subsequently enter the Aarey car shed location.
When asked if the Aarey site will be restored to its past glory, Gupta merely said that the project is currently under review. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray assigned a committee to come up with an alternate location for the car shed. Shortly after, areas like Kanjurmarg as well as Pahadi in Goregaon (West) were pitched as alternate sites for the metro car shed. Meanwhile, Thackeray has said that around 600 acres of Aarey forest will be categorized under Reserved Forests.
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