Uddhav Thackeray inspects ongoing Metro rail work in Mumbai

The Maharashtra Chief Minister on Sunday, December 20, inspected the ongoing Metro Rail work in Mumbai. Thackeray inspected the work at Andheri L-7 station, Akurli station, Dahisar metro rail bridge, Charkop metro depot, D N Nagar metro station as well as the sites of proposed Gundavali and Kandivali metro stations.

During the visit, he directed the authorities to ensure that the quality of work is good and that it gets completed within the set deadline, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a statement.

While addressing media at the inauguration, Thackeray said that the Mumbai Metro project is an ambitious project for the development of the state and city. Therefore, the work of this project should be completed on a timely manner.

He also inspected the ongoing work at Metro Trial Run at Charkop along with the MMRDA's Metropolitan Commissioner R. A. Rajiv, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Ashish Kumar Singh.

The chief minister expressed satisfaction over the ongoing work, the statement added. Earlier, the Bombay High Court permitted the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) to carry out construction and other ancillary work for the Metro III project at Cuffe Parade in south Mumbai during night.

Moreover, responding to former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s claim on ego, Uddhav Thackeray said that Kanjurmarg Metro car shed is not an ego issue for him, and he is open for a resolution through dialogue with the Centre.

On December 16, the Bombay High Court had stayed the order passed by Mumbai suburban district collector allotting 102 acres of saltpan land in Kanjurmarg area for the construction of an integrated metro car shed. The court said that the manner in which the land was transferred to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) bordered on committing fraud on power.

The present Maharashtra Viks Aghadi (MVA) government - comprising the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress - recently took a decision to shift the car shed from the Aarey Colony to Kanjurmarg. The then BJP government had proposed Aarey for the construction of the metro car shed.