Aarey Colony: Work on 32-storey Metro Bhavan underway

Earlier this month, several environmental activists and local residents had protested the hacking of over 2,000 trees to make way for the Metro car shed at Aarey.

Aarey colony metro car shed, aarey protests, Mumbai metro, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Mumbai news

The Metro Bhavan will serve as the control tower for all Metro lines. (File)

The construction of the 32-storey Metro Bhavan is underway in Aarey Colony, where earlier this month, several environmental activists and local residents had protested the hacking of over 2,000 trees to make way for a Metro car shed. The Metro Bhavan, which is being built on a different plot, is expected to be ready by 2021.

Earlier, 90 trees were slated to be cut to clear the plot for the Metro Bhavan. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), however, said that 20 of these trees will not face the axe as the alignment of the drainage line of the Metro Bhavan has been changed.

The 32-storey structure is coming up on a 2-hectare plot. The Metro Bhavan, which will serve as the control tower for all Metro lines, will house 7,000-8,000 employees running Metro operations.

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A senior MMRDA official said that there was a delay in starting the work because of permissions required from the Aarey Milk Colony dairy department. “Currently, there are two machines deployed in Aarey Colony to start work piling and geological testing,” said Dilip Kavathkar, spokesperson, MMRDA.

Another MMRDA official said, “Earlier, 90 trees were to be cut but we have changed the drainage line, so 20 fully grown trees will not be cut now.”

Armed with an order of the Bombay High Court, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), which is building the underground Metro 3, cut 2,141 trees in Aarey Colony on October 4. Angry protests followed that led to Section 144 being invoked.

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