Aarey & Metro Car Shed : Wrangle over Mumbai's mega project

Aamchi Mumbai Ep. 12

All you need to know about the Aarey controversy

Mumbai is a densely populated cosmopolitan city with a huge number of local daily commuters. For developing the transportation system & ensure efficient movement of people within the city, the Maharashtra Government has come up with multiple metro projects. 

With the announcement of policies come the controversies. In this quagmire, various arguments are floating around regarding the construction of the Car shed in Mumbai's Aarey colony. Some eminent environmentalists have strongly opposed this decision which interferes with Aarey and its flora and fauna. On the other hand, many intellectuals in this field have nodded for the car shed project in Aarey itself citing it's benefits & advantages for ordinary Mumbaikars.

Let us have a look at the conundrum & understand its two sides in a pragmatic manner. 

About the Aarey Colony :

Aarey, an urban forest in the suburbs of Goregaon east is spread across 13,000 hectares. This colony is home to about 27 Adivasi villages where many tribals live. Many endangered animals & species of birds reside in this patch. It comprises about 86 different species of trees and 290 species of wildlife. Aarey is referred to as 'Mumbai's Lungs' because it's a lush green natural spot in between the concrete jungle.

Aarey milk colony was established in 1949 to revolutionise the processing and production of dairy products in the city. The establishment of Aarey Milk Colony was an idea of Dara Khurody, who is considered as one among the pioneers of the dairy sector.

The proposed area where Metro car shed is to be established consists of only 30 hectares which constitutes about 2% of the total Aarey land.

Mumbai's first underground Metro line : The Metro Line 3

Mumbai's first and only underground metro project is encapsulated in a term as Metro line 3. The 33.5 km line connecting Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ is supposed to offer a fast, comfortable and efficient mode of transport to ordinary Mumbaikars who are tired of using the confining and packed suburban railways i.e. the local trains. Length of corridor will be marked by 27 key stations, of which 26 will be underground and one at grade. It will provide commuters connectivity to other metro lines, as well as the suburban trains. Without burning fossil fuels, the metro is said to be fulfilling the needs of transportation that a global city like Mumbai deserves. This giant 33.5 km corridor is anticipated to largely decongest traffic in Mumbai by connecting important districts, the airport and many educational institutions. 

To continue the ongoing projects of Mumbai metro, a car shed or car depot has to be built. The BJP Government led by former CM Devendra Fadnavis had agreed to construct the car shed in the Aarey colony as this option was comparatively cheaper and flexible for the developmental project. Fadnavis is one among the vanguard, who firmly supports car shed in Aarey. Out of the 3,166 acres that Aarey milk Colony consists of, the Maharashtra government handed over 30 hectares for the depot. Out of this only, 25 hectares will be used for the depot buildings. This is about 2 per cent of the entire area of Aarey Milk Colony. Using only 2% of Aarey land, the Govt sought to complete the project, which would cater to around 16 lakh commuters daily thus, considerably reducing the Carbon dioxide impact in the city which is caused by petrol vehicles. With the successful metro line 3, around two lakh metric tonnes of carbon dioxide would be reduced in a year. 

The problem :

In August 2019, BMC's Tree Authority approved a proposal to cut 2,185 trees from Aarey for the construction of shed. The proposal included transplanting 461 trees. This led to widespread protests in which NGOs demanded that the trees shouldn't be cut and further the matter knocked the doors of the High Court. In October 2019, the Bombay High Court dismissed all petitions against the proposed cutting down of over 2,500 trees and agreed for a Metro car shed in Aarey colony. As the felling of trees began, the city saw some wild outcry which led to the imposition of section 144. Due to the unrest of certain people in the city, SC ordered the Maharashtra government not to cut any more trees in Aarey and with this, the project was halted.

In the later part of 2019, the political turmoil took place & The Maha Vikas Aghadi Government led by Shiv Sena, reverted the decision taken by the previous government and shifted the car shed project to the eastern suburb Kanjurmarg. This obstinacy further escalated the cost of the project to a great extent i.e. by 10,000 crores. Work was not initiated in Kanjurmarg as this area was stuck in legal dispute. MVA's decision to shift the place only elevated the costs. The BJP has been criticising this since then. 

Now, again the newly formed Government in Maharashtra with Eknath Shinde as it's CM declared that the car shed will be brought back to Aarey itself. DCM Fadnavis also stated that, the development and decongestion of Mumbai roads is their priority. The environmental cost of cutting 2700 trees would be covered up shortly because an ample amount of pollution will be lessened with environmental friendly metro. Also to compensate, nearly 2 times more trees are being planted in adjoining areas including Sanjay Gandhi park and some degraded areas of Aarey colony. The MMRCL also heralded that they have successfully completed 30% of replantation by using Miyawaki method in Goregaon west. Meanwhile, The protesters say that the survival rate of the replanted saplings is poor. The Supreme Court in its order noted that carbon sequestering by the trees to be cut for constructing the car shed can be achieved within 80 days by the metro. It will help remove 4,56,771 vehicles from the roads of Mumbai and in the long term, significantly reduce the pollution. 

Environment activist claims & fact checks : 

The environmentalists and some local folks opposing the Govt decision to build car shed in Aarey said that this move will destroy the ecosystem and would disrupt the lives of tribals. Some exuberant environment saviours display Aarey colony as the last existing green patch in the city which is wrong as there exists a huge Sanjay Gandhi National Park adjacent to Aarey forest which is endowed largely with greenery to look after the oxygen supply to the city. The Sanjay Gandhi National Park is three times bigger than the Aarey colony. Also, Mumbai is a coastal city with an unfathomable natural breeze from the sea. So the claim saying that Mumbai would fall short of oxygen just after using 2% of Aarey land is baseless.

Another claim by activists is that the car shed will devastate the lives of species due to increased human activity. Meanwhile, 800 acres of Aarey has been designated as reserved forest but the patch on which the car shed was aimed to be built was the Aarey milk colony which didn't come under the forest department. Also, the car depot will be constructed on a site which is surrounded by roads on three sides so thereby not entering the heart of the forest. 

According to Vanashakti NGO, the urban forest shouldn't be touched for commercial uses. It may further establish a precedence that the forest areas could be used for developmental works which will eventually lead to loss of forest cover & destruction of the vast ecosystem that lies in the area.

Many people still believe that the issue of displacement of the locals and tribals is not accurately settled by the Metro planning committee. On the contrary, the MMRCL claims that it's special committee would look after the rehabilitation process of the affected people. The MHADA also has a substantial role to play in the process of relocation & safe rehabilitation. 

The key person in the implementation and groundwork of the metro 3 project is the senior IAS officer, Ashwini Bhide who serves as a Managing Director of MMRC, which is a joint venture of the Central government as well as the state govt. She's rightfully recognised as the 'Metro Woman' of Mumbai. Meanwhile during the MVA reign, she along with 20 IAS officers had been transferred to other places with a purpose to deviate them from this mega project. Today in the newly formed Shiv Sena - BJP government she has been reinstated as the managing director again. 

As two sides of coin, the matter continues to boil. Approximately 25% of the car shed work is completed in Aarey whereas in Kanjurmarg, the work done accounts for 0%. The delay in construction work has additionally elevated the cost to 10,000 crores and also the discomfort of Mumbaikars due to lack of proper transportation. In this volatile battle, the vox populi of Mumbaikars needs to be taken note of. Let me know your views on the tussle and stay tuned for more episodes.

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