Exclusive interview: ‘They have not just backstabbed Uddhav ji, but Mumbaikars too’

AMID the controversy and protest surrounding the Metro line 3 car depot back in full throttle, former environment minister and Yuva Sena Chief Aaditya Thackeray, in an exclusive interview with mid-day, called the decision taken by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to shift the car shed back to Aarey Milk Colony unfortunate. Thackeray adds that the Kanjurmarg land would not only have saved the biodiversity of Aarey, but also people's money.

Excerpts from the interview

What is your opinion on the current government's decision to shift the car depot back to Aarey?
There are multiple ways of seeing this - one is of course as a Mumbaikar and as someone who has seen what best could be done for the environment and forest. We are deeply hurt because this is an issue so close to Mumbaikars' hearts, not because it is an issue of pride but one that is practical. What is unfortunate is that some people are continuing to play politics on this issue. When the government changed, it was a betrayal, where some people not just backstabbed Uddhav ji but Mumbaikars too. And unfortunately the very first decision of the new Cabinet was to bring the car depot back to Aarey Milk Colony. They are taking out their anger towards us on Mumbai. Our opposition to Aarey is not personal but because this biodiversity-rich area belongs to the city and needs to be protected; and this is why the MVA took the bold decision to declare 812 acres in Aarey as forest.

Pic/Rane Ashish

What do you think of the camera trapping study at the site?
Earlier, there were claims made that the proposed land does not have biodiversity. When we were in government, the CM had instructed and so the camera trapping study was carried out at the car depot site with MMRCL and forest department. The official report of the camera trapping exercise, which we had officially sanctioned through the forest department, clearly proves the fact that the site is not just about trees but has a rich biodiversity. The study clearly states that the land is frequented not just by five leopards but also jungle cats, mongoose, monitor lizards and other wildlife. The movement of leopards during the day also hints at the fact that animals might be using the area for resting. Another interesting finding is that a female leopard was found with her cub there. I have also been told that the area has a rich population of birds, reptiles, etc.

Why do you think the Kanjurmarg land is perfect for the car depot?
Taking the car depot to Kanjurmarg or to Pahadi Goregaon is a practical solution to avoid destruction of the rich biodiversity at Aarey. When the Metro-6 line comes up, which is without a car depot too, the land available on either side would be enough for both lines 3 and 6. In fact, Kanjurmarg can become a hub for lines 3, 6 , 4 and 14, saving thousands of crores of the government's and people's money.

There have been allegations of cost escalation and delay in the completion of Metro-3 due to unavailability of land. Your take.
I think one of the things basically wrong with the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) and their earlier Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) or even their Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the 33-km long line is that it does not show a stabilising line. They went into Aarey unnecessarily which could have been avoided by combining the car depot at Kanjurmarg. The car depot could have also been constructed at BKC. The basic question is: are we speaking the truth to ourselves? If something like a Metro is coming up which is going to be used by millions of Mumbaikars then everyone wants it. The only issue is with the car depot. If you look at the last 2.5 years, no work on Metro-3 was stopped. It was only the car depot work that did not happen. We are only insisting that whatever project comes up, not just in the state but across the country be it a railways project, or roadways project or airports project, everything must have a free, fair and sensible Environment Impact Assessment report. If this is done, India can lead the world in climate action. At the same time India is also vulnerable to the climate crisis. Look at the floods, droughts, flash floods and hailstorms. Our farmers are facing a crisis, our cities are facing a crisis. So, we need to look at sustainability in terms of economy and environment and we need to balance it out. A free and fair investigation should be done to know what exactly led to the cost escalation. As far as I know, it happened before 2019.

A section of environment lovers feels that if the car shed area had been declared a forest, this would have not come about...
The area was already handed over to MMRCL and we were working closely with them and the forest department. It was on our instruction that the camera trapping study was carried out. The study report is actually a product of free and fair governance, which is pro-environment, pro-development and sustainable development. Of course, we would have started the work on transferring the land to the forest department once the Kanjurmarg land was acquired, because we have to go through detail before making the call.

812
Acres of land in Aarey that has been notified as forest