Following Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s stay on the construction of the Metro car shed project inside the Aarey forest, Mahul residents are hoping the new CM comes to their rescue too. As with Aarey, Shiv Sena had lent its support to the Mahul residents’ protest.

Built by the BMC, Mahul is currently home to 3,500 families who have been rehabilitated here under the government’s Project Affected People (PAP) scheme. The resettlement colony is surrounded by chemical factories and oil refineries. In September, the Bombay High Court expressed shock at the living conditions and directed the government to assess the pollution levels in Mahul. The colony has 72 buildings with 7,200 homes. Of these, BMC had allotted 5,500 homes to PAP.