Mumbai: The Congress on Tuesday alleged an ₹18,000-crore scam in the allotment of land for the Metro car shed at Aarey Colony that would benefit real estate players, and said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was wants to “fool the people of Mumbai”.
Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam and environmental activists also vowed to fight against the car shed.
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) recently published an advertisement stating that the rail corporation has received all clearances for the project. In a press conference held on Tuesday, Mr. Nirupam said the MMRC was misleading citizens by putting up wrong information. Citizens and activists fighting against the Metro shed were also present.
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Mr. Nirupam said, “This is an ₹18,000-crore scam by Mr. Fadnavis. Thirty hectare land is being allotted to construct the car shed, while in other cities only 12 hectare or so was needed. The CM is planning to use the rest of the land for commercial purposes, where big builders and developers can construct commercial and residential complexes and get extra 4 FSI (floor space index), which amounts to a whopping ₹18,000 crore.”
He said the development plan of the city clearly shows that Colaba has been earmarked for the metro depot, and that the government is insisting on Aarey Colony because the land does not fall under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules and hence can be exploited for commercial and real estate use.
Activist Stalin D. said, “The government is lying to citizens. It is claiming that the land at Aarey Colony belongs to the Dairy Development Department. However, the department is only the custodian; it has said it has only 300 acre under its control and not 3,000 acre as claimed.”
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Mr. Nirupam said the government has claimed that activities at Aarey Colony are legally permitted, even though the case is still with the National Green Tribunal (NGT). “The NGT hasn’t given its approval for work to start on the Metro car shed. Mr. Fadnavis wants to fool the people of Mumbai. This forest land will be lost to the builder mafia,” he said.
‘No commercial activity’
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), meanwhile, said the allegations were baseless. “None of the 30 hectare is proposed for commercial use. The actual construction [of the car shed] will be on 25 hectare, since five hectare is reserved as a green patch,” the CMO said.
The clarification from the CMO said Metro 3 will have 35 trains with eight bogies. The number of trains will eventually be increased to 55, and hence 30 hectare land is needed for the shed. The depot will be built at 21 hectare, the approach line and station on four hectare, and the remaining land will be the green patch.