A day after a four-man committee, appointed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, recommended lifting the stay on the construction of the Metro car shed in Aarey Milk Colony, Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday said the government was studying the report, while adding that the recommendations were not binding on the government. The BJP, meanwhile, mounted an attack on the Shiv Sena, stating that the report ratified the BJP’s stand on the car shed and that stalling the project had hurt Mumbai. “The report is yet to be read and discussed. It is not binding on the government to follow the recommendations. The government will study the report and make a decision, keeping in mind public sentiments,” Aaditya told reporters after attending an event linked to tunneling work of Metro 3 line. Aaditya had been the most vocal opponent of the car shed at Aarey and openly backed environmental activists opposing it. “The final call will be taken by the government and anything that hurts the environment will not be acceptable,” he said. On Tuesday, the committee, headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Manoj Saunik, submitted its recommendations to the CMO. The report cited logistical hurdles, cost escalations and a further delay in the underground rail’s commissioning to justify that the car shed remain in Aarey. The committee found merit in the argument that increased construction activity inside Aarey, one of the last vestiges of green spaces in Mumbai, was impacting the rich flora and fauna in the region, recommending that the government should notify the un-built green areas inside the colony as a no-construction belt, preserving it like a protected forest. The report has put the Thackerays in a tight spot, as the father-son duo had taken a public stand against the car shed. The report, meanwhile, gave fodder to the BJP to attack the Sena, with former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis criticising the government for stalling the project. “I have come to know through media reports that the new panel has endorsed the Aarey site for the car shed. If this is the case, then the government should immediately lift the stay on construction of the car shed and restart work quickly. Everyday, delay is causing Rs 5 crore loss to the state exchequer,” he said. BJP leader Kirit Somaiya also said the move has cost Mumbai dearly. “I appeal to the Uddhav Thackeray government to withdraw the stay. We have wasted 60 days and Rs 600 crore,” he said. The car shed has been a battleground between environmentalists and Mumbai Metro authorities ever since the plan was first drawn up in 2015. The battlelines were firmed up further when Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL), the project’s nodal agency, in an overnight operation on October 4, 2019, felled 2,141 trees at the proposed 33-hectare site, following a Bombay High Court verdict. The Sena, then a partner in the BJP-led state government, had lent a political voice to those protesting the hacking of trees, with Aaditya, now environment minister, coming out in strong opposition to the move. On November 29, a day after being sworn in as CM, Uddhav had stayed the car shed construction work and also dropped cases filed by the police against 29 protesters. The four-member committee, was formed on December 11.
