The State government on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that the 41-hectare plot at Kanjurmarg, which is available and dispute free, is being used for Metro 6 and hence cannot be used for the Metro 3 car shed.
A day after a Division Bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Bharati Dangre sought information on the Kanjurmarg plot and asked for the case papers pertaining to it, senior counsel Shreehari Aney, appearing for the State, said the Metro 3 depot could not be shifted there as the State cannot integrate Metro 3 with Metro 6.
The Bench said it would keep aside the Kanjurmarg issue for now, and simply decide the Aarey matter based on merit. Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni asked the court not to entertain the petition seeking to declare Aarey a forest. He said a similar matter had already been decided by a Bench led by Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari in October 2018, which had dismissed the petition as development permissions had been obtained. The Bench had said, “Metro car site forms part of Aarey colony and not part of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Thus we have no hesitation in rejecting the argument that the notification prohibits the use of forest land for Metro car depot.”
Mr. Kumbhakoni said a special leave petition has been filed by the Aarey Conservation Group against the order before the Supreme Court, which was yet to give its judgement on the matter.
Arguments in the matter of declaring Aarey a forest concluded on Thursday. The court said it would deliver its judgement after hearing other matters, including a plea filed by activist Zoru Bhathena challenging a resolution passed by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Tree Authority to cut 2,646 trees at Aarey colony to make way for the Metro car shed, on September 30.
