Aarey vs Kanjurmarg?
HC asks for all documents pertaining to Kanjurmarg, which was initially chosen as the Metro car shed site
In what can spell trouble for the Maharashtra government and also the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), the Bombay High Court on Wednesday indicated that it would look into if the car shed for the controversial Metro III line can be shifted to Kanjurmarg from Aarey Colony.
A bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Bharati Dangre ordered the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to place on record all documents pertaining to the site at Kanjurmarg.
“Bring all the records pertaining to Kanjurmarg site. We will look into this aspect too,” CJ Nandrajog said while adjourning the matter till Thursday.
The bench gave the direction after activist Zoru Bhathena and senior counsel Gayatri Singh apprised the bench of the fact that the government had initially decided to construct the car shed at Kanjurmarg.
“They (authorities) initially decided to construct the car sheds for both Metro III and VI lines at Kanjurmarg. However, subsequently, the government decided to shift the Metro III car shed to Aarey. Our case is that they can still consider have it at Kanjurmarg,” Bhathena told the judges.
At this, additional government pleader J W Mattoos told the bench that the activist was correct, but not entirely. “Yes, we had decided to have both the car sheds at Kanjurmarg, however, we changed the plan only because a report of the experts recommended shifting of the car shed,” Mattoos said.
“This was decided also because there was a problem regarding integration of both the lines,” Mattoos submitted. Mattoos’ submissions were interrupted with CJ Nandrajog saying, “Bring all the records, we shall look into it.”
During the course of the hearing, the bench also observed that any development work would have an impact on environment. “In any case of environment versus development, there will be at least some impact on the former. You cannot say no to development and push the society backwards,” the bench remarked.
The activists replied that they are not against any development work. “In fact, we are in favour of development, but we also do not want the environment to be damaged permanently. Thus, we seek protection of Aarey,” Bhathena told the court. Accordingly, the judges adjourned the matter with a specific directive to the activist to place on record the importance of the flora and fauna at Aarey Colony.