mid-day editorial: Metro 3 ball is in CM's court

While Mumbaikars continue to curse their way through the impossible traffic situation in the city and the Western Railway trains keep bursting at the seams every day, the state government is dilly dallying over a site for the Metro 3 car shed

While Mumbaikars continue to curse their way through the impossible traffic situation in the city and the Western Railway trains keep bursting at the seams every day, the state government is dilly dallying over a site for the Metro 3 car shed.

This leg of the Metro, which will go completely underground from Colaba to Seepz via Bandra, is touted to take a huge load off the roads and the western line trains.

Floated five years ago, the biggest hurdle in the plan remains the site for the Metro 3 car shed. In 2014, the first set of protests erupted when the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd floated the idea of a car shed at the ecologically sensitive Aarey Milk Colony, with citizens vehemently opposing the cutting down of 2,298 trees there. Taken aback by the backlash, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis appointed an expert committee to find alternative sites for the car shed. In October last year, the committee presented its report, which pegged the Kanjurmarg land as an ideal alternative. A month later, the MMRC told the state government it would be more than happy with the land at Kanjurmarg.

This suggestion was, surprisingly, shot down by the CM, who said that moving the site of the car shed would escalate the cost of the Metro 3 project by Rs 1,500 crore. Why then ask for suggestions, when any alternative site would mean an escalation in cost, environmentalists asked. They said they are not against the Metro 3, just against the use of Aarey for it.

They argue that a cost rise of Rs 1,500 crore on a project that costs Rs 23,136 crore is hardly worth cutting out part of the city’s green lung.

Those in favour of the car shed at Aarey point out that 1 lakh trees were cut down for the Delhi Metro and twice the number were planted elsewhere in compensation; the same could be done for Aarey as well.

With the ball now in Fadnavis’ court, it is time for him to take the most important decision in recent times.

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