Metro-6: MMRDA yet to finalise land for yard

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is yet to finalise the land where the yard for Metro-6 corridor, from Swami Samarth Nagar in Lokhandwala to Vikhroli, will be built.

According to a right to information (RTI) reply sent by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to a public group on January 28, “land for the Metro yard for line-6 has not yet been finalised and the plan for the same shall be finalised after land is allocated”. Metro-6 is being executed by DMRC on behalf of MMRDA.

The plan for the casting yard for Metro-2a (DN Nagar to Dahisar) and Metro-6 was sought in an RTI query by the public group Janhit Manch. The RTI reply also states that construction of the car shed for Metro-6 has not yet started, while 55% of work on the Metro-2a shed has been completed.

While DMRC said the MMRDA is supposed to allocate the land, MMRDA officials said the process to finalise the plot was going on and a lot of departments were involved in it.

The Metro-6 corridor will start from Swami Samarth Nagar in Lokhandwala junction and go via the Powai lake, the Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) and reach the eastern express highway (EEH). In the past, a land parcel at Kanjurmarg was being considered as an option to build the Metro-6 yard. It was also considered as an option for building the car shed for the underground Metro-3 (Colaba-bandra-seepz) in place of the controversial Aarey land.

Nitin Killawala, a member of Janhit Manch and an architect, and other residents of the Powai belt have demanded that Metro-6 be constructed as an underground line on the grounds that JVLR is already over-congested. “Even for Metro-2a, most of the land is being allocated now. There needs to some planning before starting so much work on ground,” said Killawala.