BMC likely to vote against building Metro 3 car shed in Aarey

The metro car-shed at Aarey is among the top changes that could be approved by the BMC in the new DP today

Will the BMC vote to protect Aarey Colony and keep the Metro 3 car shed out of this green pocket? The fate of the ecologically sensitive area was in the hands of the city's corporators as they voted on the draft Development Plan (DP) 2034 last night. The House was in session late into the night, and at the time of going to press, the corporators were in the process of discussing 268 listed amendments, the last of which involves the Metro car shed. Sources said that in all likelihood, the civic body would vote against building the car shed in Aarey.

No matter what decision the Corporation makes, the BJP-led state government will still have the final say.

Several issues on table
Amendments moved by the elected representatives include putting Film City back in the industrial area instead of a natural area. The BJP has also come up with a proposal to have another central park in the city, on Mumbai Port Trust land near the Eastern Freeway. The BJP group leader has suggested that the green space can be developed on across 250 hectares, for which 120 hectares of reclamation will be required at the Eastern waterfront. There were several other matters up for discussion, such as making reservations where schools are required but land was earlier marked for other purposes.

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Manoj Kotak, BJP group leader, said, "We put forward the proposals that we felt were important and needed to be highlighted. In case of Film City, if it continued to be a natural area, then shootings would have been banned, as no activity can be allowed in a natural zone."

The general body of the corporators approved the plan after a marathon meeting that went on for 8.5 hours.

It's a Sena-BJP contest
While approving the draft plan, the Sena and BJP were tipped to argue for opposite sides in the Metro car shed debate - while Sena wants the car shed to be removed, the BJP wants it to be built there. Congress will support Sena on this issue.

Mangesh Satamkar, senior Sena leader and BMC corporator, said, "This has been on our agenda and we will get it removed from the DP."

Also read: Aarey Milk Colony's fate likely to be sealed on July 31

A senior civic official said, "Amendments approved by the BMC will be forwarded to the state, where public suggestions and objections will be invited before the DP is published. The state has the powers to remove or add reservations and can again add the Metro car shed reservation in Aarey Colony, if the BMC votes to remove it."

What is DP 2034?
The DP 2034, which is the blueprint for the city's infrastructural growth for the next two decades, has been long overdue. The delay in approval has been causing confusion in the real estate market as several developers are juggling between the DP 1991 and the new draft 2034 that is in public domain.