BKC plot rejected twice in past for Metro depot

Detailed project report in 2011 and six-member technical panel in 2015 set aside BKC option for various reasons

MUMBAI: The 21-hectare plot in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) that the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is eyeing to build the Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) car depot has been rejected twice in the past for the project.

The government is considering the plot, where a terminus for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train has been proposed, after the Bombay high court on Wednesday stayed allotment of 102 acres of saltpan land at Kanjurmarg to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to construct the car shed.

“It is true that the BKC option was rejected, but we are now exploring different technical possibilities, including an underground car shed. We will look at its feasibility again,” said a senior state official, on condition of anonymity.

The plot at BKC exhibition grounds was among those considered when the detailed project report (DPR) for the 33.5-km Metro corridor was submitted in 2011.

The DPR, however, did not approve it considering its commercial value. It stated, “[The plot] be used more gainfully for property development/commercial exploitation.”

The DPR also stated that a car shed in BKC would “result in loss of revenue and close doors on future expansion”.

The DPR had considered an underground car shed, but stated it would cost ₹1,250 crore more, with an additional expense of ₹20 crore every year for operations. It also stated that an underground depot will require five years for completion, instead of two years for an over ground one.

“[An] underground depot may be provided, in case, all other options to construct a depot at grade have been exhausted,” stated the DPR.

In 2015, a six-member committee, appointed by the then Devendra Fadnavis-led state government, considered nine options, including BKC, for the car shed. However, the panel said building the depot in an intermediary location is not recommended for operations. The committee questioned that a ramp will have to be constructed to bring the trains from the underground station to an at-grade location, which would require 400 metres of land cutting across the main BKC road and cost ₹30 crore more, apart from undertaking rehabilitation.

“This land [BKC] is an extremely valuable economic asset. The revenue estimated to be generated from this land is about ₹30,000 crore. Such funds are planned to be used to develop other equally important infrastructure and transport projects in MMR,” said the panel.

BKC, currently, is among the most premium land in Mumbai. In 2019, the MMRDA sold a three-acre plot in BKC to Japan’s Sumitomo for ₹2,238 crore, one of the highest land deals in the country.

On Friday, former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, while talking to reporters, called the idea of shifting the car shed to BKC “a childish one”. “It [BKC] is prized land. Even if the car shed was to be constructed underground, it would cost five times more,” Fadnavis said.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray

had on Thursday convened a meeting with officials to look at options for the car shed, which the government had moved from Aarey to Kanjurmarg.

Chief secretary Sanjay Kumar had confirmed that they were considering the BKC plot for bullet train as one of the options for Metro car shed.

“The Kanjurmarg plot, where the car shed is being planned, is entangled in a legal process, which will take time. Hence, it has been proposed to examine the technical feasibility of the BKC plot. Based on the findings of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), the state government will take a decision,” Kumar had said.