Activists tear into report: ‘Look at the ecological damage, not financial burden’

Expressing doubts over the composition of the committee, Stalin D, from NGO Vanashakti, said, “We never had any hopes from this committee. It was inherently flawed as it constituted of sitting and serving IAS officers… Aarey Metro car shed is an environmental and technical issue and should have been dealt by experts from NEERI and IIT. If it had any semblance of transparency, the committee would have interacted with IIT, NEERI and citizens and the report made public.”

Activists also expressed doubts about the assurance given by Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray that the committee’s decision isn’t final. Environmentalists also criticised the committee for neglecting the “ecological damage” while giving precedence to “financial burden” and failing to consider alternative locations.

“Have they considered the cost and extent of environmental damage that the car shed and allied projects will suck from this dying city? If they only looked at one original option, Kanjurmarg, and one new option, Sariput Nagar, and ignored every other viable option like Kalina, BKC and Backbay, where land is available and no change in alignment is needed, how can they reach a conclusion?” asked Yash Marwah, of Let India Breathe.

Aarey Conservation Group member Amrita Bhattacharjee said, “Metro car shed area is in the catchment of Mithi river. In 2019 monsoon, we saw how badly the city was flooded and people living in the low-lying areas of Mithi had to be evacuated thrice. This shows how critical this 33-hectare land is and hence we should not talk about the financial loss but look at financial loss because of ecological damage.”