By Bharati Kumari
On Wednesday, the Bombay High court publicly acknowledged that it abides cede of Kanjurmarg land for Mumbai metro car shed.
The state government had applied for 102-acres of land for the shed earlier. They, through the Mumbai Suburban District Collector, had ordered the transfer of the Kanjurmarg salt pan land on October 1. It was handed over to MMRDA on October 6. Subsequently, MMRDA transferred the land to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRCL) on October 8.
The Kanjurmarg land, which is part of a large land parcel along the Eastern Express Highway, has been allotted for the construction of Metro car shed, is a glad tiding of joy for the state government.
The MMRDA prepares plans; formulates policies and programmes; implements projects and helps in directing investments in the Region. In particular, it conceives, promotes and monitors the key projects for developing new growth centres and bring about improvement in sectors like transport, housing, water supply and the environment in the Region.
The order was passed two days after the HC asked the Maharashtra government to consider whether the collector could withdraw the order transferring the land to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority ( MMRDA).
Within the two days, the Attorney General Kumbhakoni responded to the Court’s suggestion.
The state government stood by the collector’s order and would withdraw it without MMRDA moving away from the land. The state government said it was open to suggestions from the parties in the case and the collector can hear them.
Despite the same time that acquainting the scrapping of the metro car shed project at Aarey Colony in Mumbai in October, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray gave a voice to the shift of this project to a government-owned land in Kanjurmarg.
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) was set up on the 26th January 1975 under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority Act, 1974 by the Government of Maharashtra as an apex body for planning and co-ordination of development activities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region comprising of Mumbai and its influence area. Its activities are Development planning for the region, Provision of regional infrastructure, Promotion of growth centres, Provision of development finance, Development Co-ordination.
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is the Nodal Agency for development of the Metro System in Greater Mumbai. It is also the Concessioning Authority for the VAG Corridor, to provide Viability Gap Funding to the SPV.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish S Kulkarni, however, restrained DMRCL from carrying out its ongoing operations on the land till further orders. The case will be heard next in February 2021.
