Report Reveals Central Government Was in Favour of Kanjurmarg Metro Car Shed in July

According to a letter sent by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to the Salt Commissioner in July, the Central Government was willing to allow the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to construct the Metro car shed at Kanjurmarg.

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However, two months later, in September, the Central Government approached the court against the Maharashtra Government’s call to transfer 102 acres of land at Kanjurmarg to the MMRDA for the aforementioned car shed. What’s even more surprising is that the Union Commerce and Industries Minister, Piyush Goyal personally approved the July proposal. 

The DPIIT had directed Salt Commissioner to conduct a survey of the 43.76-hectare land along with officials from the MMRDA in July. However, the DPIIT has said that the land was transferred to the MMRDA even before the survey was completed. 

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A senior DPIIT official said - “A total of 102 acres of central government land was illegally transferred by the Mumbai suburban collector to the MMRDA.”

“Maharashtra government was silent on the issue, which forced the department to seek a legal recourse,” he added.

Though the Central Government maintains that it owns the Kanjurmarg plot, the State Government has said that the land belongs to its jurisdiction based on land revenue records. 

An official from the MMRDA said that they have spent Rs 10 lakhs for the survey as well as the appointment of a city survey officer who apparently began working at the site. 

The issue of the ownership of salt pan lands in Mumbai has been contentious, to say the least. The previous Maharashtra government led by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis also held a view similar to that of the current MVA government. 

Chandrakant Patil, who headed the revenue department had maintained in 2018 that salt pan lands where no salt cultivation had taken place, belong to the State. This also included the 102-acre Kanjurmarg plot currently assigned for the Metro 3 car shed (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz).

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