‘They have not just backstabbed Uddhav ji, but Mumbaikars too’

AMID the controversy and protest surrounding the Metro line 3 car depot back in full throttle former environment minister and Yuva Sena Chief Aaditya Thackeray in an exclusive interview with midday called the decision taken by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to shift the car shed back to Aarey Milk Colony unfortunate Thackeray adds that the Kanjurmarg land would not only have saved the biodiversity of Aarey but also peoplersquos moneyExcerpts from the interviewWhat is your opinion on the current governmentrsquos decision to shift the car depot back to AareyThere are multiple ways of seeing thismdashone is of course as a Mumbaikar and as someone who has seen what best could be done for the environment and forest We are deeply hurt because this is an issue so close to Mumbaikarsrsquo hearts not because it is an issue of pride but one that is practical What is unfortunate is that some people are continuing to play politics on this issue When the government changed it was a betrayal where some people not just backstabbed Uddhav ji but Mumbaikars too And unfortunately the very first decision of the new Cabinet was to bring the car depot back to Aarey Milk Colony They are taking out their anger towards us on Mumbai Our opposition to Aarey is not personal but because this biodiversityrich area belongs to the city and needs to be protected and this is why the MVA took the bold decision to declare 812 acres in Aarey as forestPicRane AshishWhat do you think of the camera trapping study at the siteEarlier there were claims made that the proposed land does not have biodiversity When we were in government the CM had instructed and so the camera trapping study was carried out at the car depot site with MMRCL and forest department The official report of the camera trapping exercise which we had officially sanctioned through the forest department clearly proves the fact that the site is not just about trees but has a rich biodiversity The study clearly states that the land is frequented not just by five leopards but also jungle cats mongoose monitor lizards and other wildlife The movement of leopards during the day also hints at the fact that animals might be using the area for resting Another interesting finding is that a female leopard was found with her cub there I have also been told that the area has a rich population of birds reptiles etc Why do you think the Kanjurmarg land is perfect for the car depotTaking the car depot to Kanjurmarg or to Pahadi Goregaon is a practical solution to avoid destruction of the rich biodiversity at Aarey When the Metro6 line comes up which is without a car depot too the land available on either side would be enough for both lines 3 and 6 In fact Kanjurmarg can become a hub for lines 3 6 4 and 14 saving thousands of crores of the governmentrsquos and peoplersquos moneyThere have been allegations of cost escalation and delay in the completion of Metro3 due to unavailability of land Your takeI think one of the things basically wrong with the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd MMRCL and their earlier Environment Impact Assessment EIA or even their Detailed Project Report DPR of the 33km long line is that it does not show a stabilising line They went into Aarey unnecessarily which could have been avoided by combining the car depot at Kanjurmarg The car depot could have also been constructed at BKC The basic question is are we speaking the truth to ourselves If something like a Metro is coming up which is going to be used by millions of Mumbaikars then everyone wants it The only issue is with the car depot If you look at the last 25 years no work on Metro3 was stopped It was only the car depot work that did not happen We are only insisting that whatever project comes up not just in the state but across the country be it a railways project or roadways project or airports project everything must have a free fair and sensible Environment Impact Assessment report If this is done India can lead the world in climate action At the same time India is also vulnerable to the climate crisis Look at the floods droughts flash floods and hailstorms Our farmers are facing a crisis our cities are facing a crisis So we need to look at sustainability in terms of economy and environment and we need to balance it out A free and fair investigation should be done to know what exactly led to the cost escalation As far as I know it happened before 2019A section of environment lovers feels that if the car shed area had been declared a forest this would have not come aboutThe area was already handed over to MMRCL and we were working closely with them and the forest department It was on our instruction that the camera trapping study was carried out The study report is actually a product of free and fair governance which is proenvironment prodevelopment and sustainable development Of course we would have started the work on transferring the land to the forest department once the Kanjurmarg land was acquired because we have to go through detail before making the call812Acres of land in Aarey that has been notified as forest