Mumbai : In a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) plea, a revelation has raised questions among activists as the official website of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) does not show a metro station likely to come up at Aarey Colony in the western suburbs. The reply provided a link to the map of the Metro III project which extends from Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ but does not enter Aarey Colony at all.
The RTI was filed on December 8, 2016 by activist Zoru Bhathena enquiring about the entire plan of the Metro III line, the number of trees that will be affected, transplantation of the trees and the names and locations of all the metro stations and car sheds. In reply, the MMRC informed that around 118 trees would be affected by just three stations namely CST, Kalbadevi, Girgaon and Grant Road. The number of trees affected by the other stations was not mentioned.
For the other queries regarding names and locations of metro stations, the response letter provided a link to the official website of the MMRC showing the map of the metro line. Bhathena told the Free Press Journal, “The map portrays 26 metro stations starting from Cuffe Parade and ending at SEEPZ at Andheri. There is no mention of Aarey anywhere in the map. If there is no station or shed coming up at Aarey as per the official website of MMRC, then why is there construction going on at Aarey?” Besides SEEPZ station is shown as ending on south side of JVLR (Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road) while Aarey Colony lies on the north side of JVLR.
The project route option on the MMRC website contains the names of all the metro stations and includes Aarey Depot. So, the information contradicts itself as the map on the same website tells a different story.
