The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday accused Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray of hypocrisy over their stand on felling trees in Aarey to make way for the Metro 3 car shed.
‘Big betrayal’
In a press conference, Preeti Sharma Menon, AAP national spokesperson, said, “Mr. Fadnavis is not a Mumbaikar and does not understand our fragile environment. For him, Mumbai is only about the value of real estate and hence Mangal Prabhat Lodha, a builder, is the Mumbai president of the Bharatiya Janata Party.”
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However, she said the “bigger betrayal” was by Mr. Thackeray. “A Mumbaikar, he makes bold statements about saving Aarey but nothing is done by him or his party other than sending fancy tweets,” she said.
Ms. Sharma Menon also hit out at Ashwini Bhide, managing director of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, for saying “the Metro cannot be built without cutting trees in Aarey forest” and demanded her resignation if she cannot find alternative sites for building the car shed. When asked if she had alternative sites in mind, Ms. Sharma Menon said Kanjurmarg could be an option as it is a huge landfill, centrally connected to a Metro line and not under real estate development.
She also condemned Mr. Thackeray for his tweet on June 5 proposing the construction of a zoo in Aarey. Ms. Sharma Menon said, “According to a petition by Yashwant Jadhav, standing committee chairman of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Shiv Sena member, there is a document which shows that the BMC approached the forest department to secure permission for building a zoo at Aarey. An MoU was signed between the BMC and the forest department in the presence of Mr. Thackeray. If Aarey was under the forest department on June 5, how is it not under the forest department today? How does the BMC now have the right to grant permission to cut trees?”
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Ex-minister to visit Aarey
Meanwhile, Jairam Ramesh, former Union environment minister and Congress leader, has decided to visit Aarey colony on Tuesday and meet activists opposing the Metro car shed project.