The Maharashtra government on Wednesday issued a notification to reserve 43.76-hectare land at Kanjurmarg for metro car depot, car shed and other allied uses under Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act.
In the notification, the government said that the land reserved for "Garden/Park, Affordable Housing, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Homeless Shelter, Police Station, Police Staff Quarters, Municipal School, Electricity Transmission and Distribution facility, and wide Development Plan Roads of Village Kanjur having area admeasuring approximately 43.76 hectares are deleted and the land so deleted is entirely reserved for Metro Car Depot, Casting yard and other Metro uses".
However, there are certain conditions.
1. It is necessary to obtain permission for CRZ point of view from concern Authority i.e. MCZMA/ MoEF in respect of land under CRZ.
2. The scientific mitigation measures be taken during contraction and operation of Car Depot.
3. It will be binding for compliance of orders of Hon'ble High Court /Supreme Court in res above land.
The Free Press Journal has on February 3 reported that the government has proposed to reserve 102 acres at Kanjurmarg for the car shed. A senior official from the urban development department had told The Free Press Journal, “After 102 acres are reserved for the metro car shed, the state government will take a call on whether it is to be used for Metro 3 Colaba-SEEPZ or for Metros 4, 6 and 14. The reservation will be for a metro car shed, notwithstanding the row over the lease of the land between the Centre and the state government. If the court settles the issue, then the state government will have to buy out the land from the private builder or the Centre.” He claimed that the state government has powers under section 37 (1) of the Maharashtra Town Planning Act to reserve the plot.
The state government had proposed to use the Kanjurmarg plot as a common car shed for lines 3, 4 (Wadala-Kasarwadavali) and 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar-Vikhroli). It was also to be integrated with Line 14 (Kanjurmarg-Badlapur), the official added.