Aarey issue 'half genuine & half sponsored', says Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis amid protest against govt's decision

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday slammed the protests against the state government's proposal to shift the Metro-3 car shed project back to Mumbai's Aarey forest, an 1,800-acre area that is often termed as the city's 'green lung'.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said the Aarey issue was "half genuine and half sponsored" and added that it was "only solution to Mumbai's congestion".

"Aarey issue is half genuine & half sponsored. Work paused after 25% had been completed. Already cost has been escalated by Rs 10,000 cr, more the delay, more will cost escalation. This is the only solution to Mumbai's congestion," said Fadnavis.

The Dy CM's comments came after environmental activists and some political parties, including the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), today staged a protest at the Aarey Colony. Holding placards, the protesters raised slogans against the new government's proposal.

For the unversed, in their first cabinet meeting held soon after their swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis had directed the state administration to submit a proposal to build the Metro-3 car shed in Aarey Colony instead of Kanjurmarg.

The previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had shifted the proposed car shed site to Kanjurmarg from Aarey Colony on the ground of environment protection, but the issue got embroiled in a legal dispute. The Thackeray government had also declared Aarey as a reserved forest.

(With PTI inputs)

Published on: Sunday, July 03, 2022, 05:37 PM IST