Mumbai: The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) has issued notices to three political parties, Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, to temporarily shift their offices from Nariman Point to Ballard Estate for construction of Vidhan Bhavan metro station for the proposed Colaba-Seepz Metro-3 underground corridor.
The MMRC, in the notice, requested the parties to start shifting their offices from December 26 onwards. The offices that would be shifted would be given rent and they would be rehabilitated after the completion of the project in the same area, which is Nariman Point.
There are 26 government offices and eight offices belong to political parties, which are required to be shifted for the construction of Vidhan Bhavan Metro station. Other than the three parties, the offices of Samajwadi Party (SP), Republican Party of India (RPI), and Shetkari Kamgar Party (SKP), are also to be shifted. “Notices were served to these three as there was no reply to the communication sent to the three parties and we expect them to cooperate with us in the process of rehabilitation,” said a MMRC official.
When contacted, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, “We are in touch with the MMRC officials and we will find a solution soon for the sake of development. Also, we have demanded that we be given an office near Mantralaya as Ballard Estate is a bit far.”
NCP spokesperson, Nawab Malik, said, “We are not against shifting of our office and are in touch with the authorities but our demand is that the site at Ballard Estate is in one building where shifting is being carried for all parties. We do not think all parties in one building is a good idea.”
Meanwhile, Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena MP, said, “We will resolve the issue mutually with MMRC and we are not against the development of the city.”
The project has been mired in controversy with the construction of a car depot at Aarey Colony and also after the residents of Girgaum and Kalbadevi protested against the alignment of the project, citing their displacement.
