The construction of the Metro car shed at Aarey, a forested land adjoining the Sanjay Gandhi National Park was one of the first decisions reversed by the Shinde-Fadnavis government. Last month, former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had fervently appealed to the new government "not to stab Mumbai in its heart" by going ahead with the construction of the car shed at Aarey.
Earlier, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed that 25 per cent of work of the Mumbai Metro car shed in Aarey Colony was completed after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had given his approval. Speaking in the Legislative Council, Fadnavis also averred that no more trees will be cut for the car shed project, and said he was ready to apologise for the sake of Mumbai's people if someone felt it was a crime to cut trees at night. During Fadnavis's tenure as chief minister, his government's action of cutting trees in the leafy Aarey Colony here at night after the court's nod for the car shed had come in for criticism. Thackeray, after he became chief minister in 2019, shifted the Metro car shed site to Kanjur as environmental groups were opposed to tree felling for the project in Aarey area. In-principle approval for the project was given by the Congress-NCP government led by Prithviraj Chavan, Fadnavis said.
*With inputs from agencies
