As the Maharashtra government decides to move the Metro 3 car shed to Kanjurmarg, many are raising questions over the impact of cost for the project. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has described the decision as “anti-people” and “anti-development”.
Devendra Fadnavis, former Maharashtra Chief Minister and senior BJP leader said that the decision to shift metro 3 car shed from Aarey to Kanjurmarg was “unfortunate” and driven to “satisfy ego”.
He said that the committee appointed by Thackeray government estimated that this action will increase the cost of the project by ₹4,000 crores. In a series of tweets, Fadnavis said that the Kanjurmarg site was a “marshy land” and will require at least two years to stabilise.
“The Kanjurmarg site was earlier considered by the government. However, it was under litigation and stayed by the Bombay High Court. Private individuals had claimed their rights,” Fadnavis said.
The cost for the metro project was ₹2,400 crores in 2015 and it will increase, the former CM said while adding that all previous tenders will have to be scraped and the new process will be followed.
“This means that the Metro project, which would have been in the service of Mumbaikars just next year, has now been postponed indefinitely. ₹400 crore was already spent for Aarey CarShed,₹1300 crore wasted due to staying of project & additional cost escalation of ₹4000 crore (sic),” Fadnavis tweeted.
This means that the Metro project, which would have been in the service of Mumbaikars just next year, has now been postponed indefinitely.
— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) October 11, 2020
₹400 crore was already spent for Aarey CarShed,₹1300 crore wasted due to staying of project & additional cost escalation of ₹4000 crore❗️
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday clarified that the land at Kanjurmarg is owned by the government and has been allocated for the metro project for “zero rupees”.
“The car shed will now be moved to Kanjurmarg from Aarey, so questions will arise as to who will bear these costs. Let me clear this today. The state government has allotted the metro land for zero rupees,” Thackeray said while addressing the citizens via Facebook Live.
With the shifting of the metro car shed to Kanjurmarg, the two metro lines including Metro 3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) and Metro 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar-Lokhandwala) will be integrated.
Shiv Sena, while being in power with the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government in Maharashtra, had opposed the cutting of trees at Aarey for the metro 3 car shed. Thackeray announced that the cases against those who agitated to protect Aarey will be withdrawn. “The Cabinet has decided to drop all the charges filed against these protestors striving to protect the environment,” he added.
The Chief Minister also said that ₹100 crores which have been already spent for the purpose to build metro 3 car shed will not go to waste and the building built for the same will be used for some other public purpose.
Earlier, the Maharashtra government had announced that 600 acres of Aarey land near Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) as forest but it has been revised to 800 acres now.
Also Read - Local Trains In Mumbai Won't Start At Its Full Capacity: Uddhav Thackeray
Share
Tweet
