"Don't Stab Mumbai's Heart," Uddhav Thackeray Warns Against Shifting Of Metro Car Shed Back To Aarey
Reacting strongly to the new Maharashtra government's decision to bring the Metro-3 car shed project back to Aarey Colony, former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday warned against destroying the green lungs of Mumbai.
Breaking his silence over the political developments for the first time since his resignation on Wednesday night, Thackeray also made a fervent appeal to the Ekanth Shinde government not to go ahead with the car shed project at Aarey.
Thackeray on why metro car shed in Aarey is not a good idea
Thackeray said he was saddened by the new Maharashtra government's plan to relocate the metro car shed to Aarey Colony from Kanjurmarg in Mumbai.
"I am very upset. If you are angry at me, then vent it out, but don't stab Mumbai in its heart. I am very upset that Aarey's decision has been overturned. This is not personal property," Thackeray said.
"I had stayed the decision. I have given the option of Kanjurmarg. I am with the environment and the environmentalists. One should avoid any action if there is confusion.
"Let the Metro car shed project be at Kanjurmarg and not in Aarey. I am with the environmentalists and we had declared Aarey as a reserved forest. Wildlife exists in that forest," he said.
Thackeray said his apprehension is that once Aarey witnesses public movement, it will hurt the wildlife around.
New government's first decision - to bring car shed back to Aarey
On Thursday, hours after taking charge as the chief minister, Shinde had proposed to bring the mega infrastructure project back to Aarey, where it was originally planned when Devendra Fadnavis was the CM.
Environment vs development?
Environmentalists had opposed the idea and had argued that opening up the forest which is home to several species of animals including leopards to infrastructure projects like the Metro car shed would destroy Mumbai's last remaining green patch.
Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation had planned to cut down over 2,700 trees from the Aarey colony to build the car shed there.
However, after coming to power in November 2019, Thackeray had decided not to go ahead with the construction of the Metro-3 car shed in Aarey and shifted it to Kanjurmarg.
On Thursday, in the first cabinet meeting, CM Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis took the decision to overturn the relocating of the car shed from Aarey.??
The Mumbai Metro 3 project comprises a 33.5 km underground corridor running along the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ route. In total, there will be 27 stations out of which 26 will be underground. At present, over 90 of the tunnelling work has been completed.
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