The committee formed to explore and suggest alternative locations for the Mumbai Metro 3 car shed visited the proposed site at Aarey on Tuesday as well as two potential alternatives sites at Kanjurmarg and Jogeshwari.
The State government had set up a four-member committee to identify viable options to the existing car shed site of Mumbai Metro 3 at Aarey Milk Colony on December 11.
The Jogeshwari site was not part of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited’s (MMRCL) list of alternate sites. NCP MLA and Mumbai party president Nawab Malik had suggested it in the ongoing Winter Session of the new state Assembly.
The 102-acre plot currently houses a camp of the State Reserve Police Force and has residential blocks and training facility for the personnel. Much of it is open ground and used for training. It is also used as a ground where weddings are held. The plot is at a distance of 6 km from SEEPZ, the last station on the Metro 3 corridor. Sources said the plot was big enough to accommodate car sheds of two Metro corridors.
An earlier “technical committee” set up by the previous government in 2015 had examined six sites — Aarey, Backbay Reclamation, Mumbai Port Trust, Dharavi, Sariput Nagar, Kanjurmarg. The expert committee consisting of 6 members team- 4 bureaucrats and 2 environmental scientists had submitted their report to the government on 12th June, 2015 which states that "We sincerely believe that Kanjur Marg and Back Bay sites should be evaluated. The Aarey land is certainly not suitable due to its ecological significance."
Please click the link to find the proof of the documents:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158808863632892&set=a.10152424835297892&type=3&theater
The previous government said that it can integrate the Metro 6 and Metro 3 lines and take the bogies to Kanjurmarg to the Hon'ble High Court of Bombay by the Maharashtra Govt seeking Kanjurmarg land for the Metro car shed.
Please click on the link below for the proof of the documents:
https://www.facebook.com/indian.stalin/posts/10158820135107892
Had the previous government stuck to its earlier recommended site of Kanjurmarg, Aarey forest wouldn't have faced the tree massacre and a clean and green Metro would have been gifted to Mumbaikar till now without facing any time and cost escalations.
Nevertheless, Mumbai can still dream of a green Metro that doesn't cut open its pristine green lungs as long as alternative sites for Metro car shed are being considered.