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Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday announced that around 800 acres of land in Mumbai’s Aarey has been declared a reserve forest and the construction of the controversial car shed for a Metrorail project in Aarey would be shifted to Kanjurmag.
“This uncertainty over the car shed is over now. Biodiversity in Aarey needs to be to protected. There is an 800-acre jungle in an urban set-up… Mumbai has natural forest cover,” he said
He further added that the building already constructed in Aarey would be used for some other public purpose.
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CM Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray addressing the State https://t.co/E8qhmRTulz
— CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) October 11, 2020
Construction of proposed car shed was a contentious issue in the state as row erupted in September and October last year environmental activists and the then BJP-ruled Maharashtra government, which membered Shiv Sena.
The Chief Minister also directed the withdrawal of all police cases filed against Aarey protesters, a move that was announced in December last year as well.
The cases relate to those filed against people who tried to stop the authorities from cutting down the trees.
Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray welcomed the decision on Twitter.
Aarey Saved!
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) October 11, 2020
Aaditya Thackeray had last month said the protesters had fought for the future of the planet and that the rights of Adivasi communities that call Aarey home would be protected.
In September, the protesters opposed the BMC tree authority’s decision as the municipal corporation began felling of trees.
Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) had started hacking trees to make way for a car shed, hours after the Bombay High Court dismissed four petitions filed by NGOs and activists challenging the decision to allow felling of over 2,700 trees in the prime green lung of the city.
The Metro Bhavan, to be built at a cost of around Rs 13 crore, will be spread over 1.14 lakh sq metres in the lush green Aarey Colony, Goregaon. It has attracted stiff opposition from Mumbaikars, environmentalists and celebrities who fear huge loss of green cover due to the project.
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