The metro car shed is now being shifted out of Aarey forest in Mumbai after Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government signalled the beginning of removing construction material from the site.
Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) project director S K Gupta told The Times of India, "the car shed site is being closed and secured¡±.
He added that scaffoldings, shuttering, rebar and construction debris are all being cleared out and pits being filled so that they do not remain a safety hazard.
¡°There are openings in the wall which are being covered and the area will be closed and secured,¡± Gupta said.
People on Twitter have cheered the decision, saying it is a step in the right direction and a big win for the common man.?
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray last year appointed a committee to look for an alternate site for the car shed and stayed all construction at the 33-hectare Aarey site.
Aarey metro shed site had been surrounded by controversies. Activists and Mumbai public have vehemently protested the construction of the metro shed near the Aarey Colony in the Aarey forest which is considered to be the last green lung within the Mumbai city.
Activists have argued that it threatens the wildlife in the area and has long term negative impacts.
A few days ago, the Maharashtra government?decided to reserve 600-acre Aarey land near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in suburban Mumbai as a forest and conserve the same.
The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who said the forest would be the first example of a "huge jungle" being conserved at the centre of a megapolis, an official statement said.
The chief minister instructed during the meeting to safeguard the rights of adivasis (tribals) while the area is reserved as forest.