In a couple of years, a part of the Thane – Bhiwandi – Kalyan metro line will be operationalised, with work of the first phase getting 60% ready. This has become possible after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) managed to resolve the car depot issue and will now come up at Kasheli.
The planning authorities have split the entire 24.90-km orange line into two phases. The first phase is between Thane and Bhiwandi, while the second is between Bhiwandi and Kalyan.
“With land parcels getting identified at Kasheli for this particular route. It will be possible to operationalise the first phase of the corridor. Had the earlier Kongaon-Govegaon land been utilised for setting up the car depot, it would not have been possible to open the first phase. As of now, 60% of civil works between Thane and Bhiwandi is through,” said a source.
On Tuesday, the Free Press Journal had reported about the development authority inviting tenders to construct the car depot at Kasheli's Mouje area. The estimated cost of the car depot is Rs 472.02 crore.
On the other hand, the construction of the second phase – Bhiwandi to Kalyan is moving at a slow pace due to rehabilitation and resettlement-related challenges. This part of the corridor snakes through some of the congested areas and involves the rehabilitation of the locals prior to acquiring and mobilising construction equipment along the alignment.
During the planning stage, prior to the pandemic, the MMRDA had zeroed in on a plot at Govegaon-Kongaon. But stiff resistance by the locals made them relook at the location. They have been opposing the car depot’s location for over three years now. Their contention is that their source of livelihood is dependent on the land that the government wants to acquire for the Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan metro line's car depot. Predominantly, the locals have their small-scale businesses on the plot.
The Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan line is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 8,416 crore and will have 15 stations along the route, a part of the alignment will be underground, hence there will be a substantial increase in overall spending on this project by the time the metro line is opened for public usage.
