Decks cleared for Metro 3 car shed

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), which is executing the underground metro 3 corridor (Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ), has won the three-year-long battle against Aarey activists, with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) having ruled that it has no jurisdiction to hear the case pertaining to declaring Aarey Colony a forest. Further, the NGT has directed the activists to approach the Supreme Court or high court. Thus, there is no stay on metro car shed activities at Aarey.

A MMRC statement read, “After detailed hearing, the NGT directed the applicants to either withdraw their application else the final order will be passed. Accordingly, NGO Vanashakti has withdrawn its application and the case is finally disposed of.”

The NGT started hearing the Vanashakti and others versus Union of India case in the month of  July in 2015. The final hearing was held Thursday at the principal bench of the NGT at New Delhi.

The principal bench of the NGT had issued an interim order restraining the MMRC from dumping debris, reclaiming and cutting trees during the pendency of the application. Around 13 hectare Aarey land is needed to construct the car shed.

Ashwini Bhide, managing director, MMRC, said, “With this, all the legal hurdles have been cleared and car depot works can progress in full swing.”

Meanwhile, Stalin Dayanand, project director, Vanashakti, said, “No, the NGT has not cleared the metro car shed. It has told us to approach the high court or Supreme Court to get Aarey declared as a forest.”

According to the NGT, the primary plea of the applicants was to declare an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) around Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).

As the ministry of environment, forests and climate change declared the ESZ which excluded land earmarked for the car depot at Aarey, the plea is no longer valid.