Maharashtra has recently been witnessing some major changes. With the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, there is a change of guard. Uddhav Thackeray resigned from the top post as the state saw the rise of a new Chief Minister - Eknath Shinde.
In short, the entire political landscape of Maharashtra has changed. But, this is not the only change we are discussing here today.
The newly formed Eknath Shinde government has taken a major decision to shift the Metro-3 car shed project back to Mumbai's Aarey forest. And, this is nothing less than a nightmare for nature lovers.
While some support the Eknath Shinde-BJP government's decision to shift the project back to its original site, many see it as a drastic step. With the 'green' government gone, today we will discuss the Aarey Forest row. Why is it resurfacing time and again? And, get to know more about the long legal battle over Mumbai’s Metro-3 car shed. Let's dive in.
Within hours of the BJP-Eknath Shinde alliance assuming power on June 30, the Aarey Forest controversy resurfaced. In fact, the relocation of a metro car shed was one of the first decisions that the newly formed government made.
The move by the Shinde government reverses the decision taken by former CM Uddhav Thackeray to relocate the metro car shed from Aarey to Kanjurmarg.
The move has drawn flak from many, with environmentalists ready to lock horns with the Maharashtra government again after nearly 2.5 years.
Our story starts nearly eight years ago
The dispute over the construction of a Metro car shed at Aarey forest, which is also called 'green lung,' has been ongoing since 2014.
In 2019, the BJP-led Maharashtra government, under then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (currently Deputy CM in the Eknath Shinde govt), had planned to build a car shed for the ambitious 33.5 km underground Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro project at Aarey Milk Colony.
The 1,287 hectares Aarey Colony, located adjacent to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, is known as the lung of Mumbai. The urban forest in suburban Goregaon is home to over 300 species of flora and fauna.
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Citizens and environmental activists protested this action before the Bombay High Court. But the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (MMRCL) began destroying trees shortly after the high court rejected these petitions seeking a stay on the cutting of trees for the project.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had already allowed metro authorities to cut as many as 2,700 trees to build a car depot for Metro Line 3.
Interestingly, Shiv Sena, which was a partner in Fadnavis’ government, opposed the move and Yuva Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray led the protest.
Later, Uddhav Thackeray after becoming the chief minister in November 2019, immediately announced a stay on the construction of the proposed Metro-3 car shed in Aarey Colony. He shifted the project to Kanjurmarg and declared the nearly 800-acre of land in Aarey as a reserve forest. And, just like that, the Aarey controversy became a major bone of contention between the Shiv Sena and its former ally, the BJP.
What makes this development in Maharashtra more interesting is that - there was a time when Eknath Shinde defended Uddhav Thackeray's move to shift the Metro car shed project to Kanjurmarg from Aarey.
Eknath Shinde, who was then Maharashtra’s Urban Development Minister, has stated that the Thackeray government’s decision to scrap the Aarey car shed project and relocate it to Kanjurmarg is in the larger public interest.
Shinde further said that the opposition BJP was indulging in politics at the cost of the interest of the public. He also described the Centre’s stance over the ownership of the Kanjurmarg land as “unfortunate”.
Notably, various parties, including the Centre, the state and private entities, had staked a claim on the Kanjurmarg land.
On July 3, green activists and some political parties, including the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the AAP, staged a protest at the Aarey Colony against the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government's move to build a Metro-3 car shed at the site.
With signs in hand, the demonstrators shouted against the new government's plan.
However, the new government is unwilling to pay heed to protestors and claims that the project is the 'only solution' to Mumbai's congestion.
Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra has claimed that the project is the "only solution" to the congestion in the state's capital city despite protests.
He added that the project's delay will result in higher costs.
“Aarey issue is half genuine and half sponsored. Work paused after 25 percent had been completed. Already cost has been escalated by Rs 10,000 crore, the more the delay, the more will cost escalation. This is the only solution to Mumbai’s congestion,” Fadnavis says.
Fadnavis had stated that the project was essential for the development of the state.
Now, Fadnavis has asked Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni to present the government’s argument at the Bombay High Court on the state’s decision to relocate the metro car shed to Aarey Colony as per the 2019 plan.
The deputy CM has said that he would take an appropriate decision on the metro car shed issue and will keep in mind former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray's decision and the best interests of Mumbaikars. “It is not an issue of ego,” he said on Twitter.
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"It wasn’t a matter of destruction of the jungles. The matter was in court. It went to the high court, the Green tribunal, and the Supreme Court and there was a go-ahead from all. I want to ask how it is that these people have given clearance to some hotels in the area," Fadnavis asks.
Additionally, he claims that a car shed is necessary for the Metro 3A line to function. Thackeray had proposed a 102-acre plot in Kanjumarg which is a disputed property.
Even if the work begins, he predicted that it would take four years to finish. He said that the work, which is 25% finished, won't harm the environment and that the SC had also authorised the site.
A BJP leader from back in 2019 posed the following question: "Should the government enable a tiny minority with a narrow perspective to obstruct the advancement of a development project that will offer a greener alternative to traffic congestion and reduce greenhouse emissions?"
Furthermore, Shaina NC had stated, "We are taking only 2% of Aarey land and replacing it by planting over 20,000 trees across Maharashtra."
Here’s what environmentalists say - Environmentalists are opposed to the proposal because they believe that biodiversity and green space cannot be sacrificed for development. The Bombay High Court was requested by the Mumbai-based environmental group Vanshakti to issue a ruling declaring the Aarey Colony as a "Reserved Forest" or a "Protected Forest" under the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
Numerous people took to the streets to protest the authorities when the authorities began cutting down trees in the neighbourhood. About 30 people had to be arrested and Section 144 had to be implemented.
As for the government's decision, Nana Patole, the president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, criticised it, saying: "Considering the environment, the car shed in Aarey has been proposed to be built at Kanjurmarg, but insisting on a car shed in Aarey again is like playing with the health of Mumbai residents."
The government should realize the worth of even a single tree at a time when the environment is deteriorating at a worrying rate, the earth is warming up quicker, and climate change is getting worse.
Indeed, development is important.
Mumbai, India's financial centre, deserves a metro system that is fast, effective, and simple to use. Such networks are already in place in every major metropolis in the world.
Moving ahead with the Aarey plan and jeopardising our future, though, seems incredibly shortsighted.
