A day before the Supreme Court would hear the petition against cutting of trees in Aarey Colony for Metro car depot work, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) said on Thursday that the work being undertaken now were in strict adherence of orders of the apex court, the Bombay High Court and the government of Maharashtra.
The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government, after they came to power on June 30, 2022, lifted the stay order given by the erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government on November 19, 2019, and directed the MMRC to begin work at the Metro car depot site.
Meanwhile, eight coaches of one full train that were made in India, were on the way to the facility by road from Sri City in Andhra Pradesh. Trial runs are expected to start soon.
On the other hand, Save Aarey Forest has posted photos and videos on social media platforms which shows that trees were still being chopped.
“The car depot is a crucial nerve centre of any Metro line. Besides the day-to-day maintenance, the car depot is used for preventive, corrective and also major maintenance activities. These facilities ensure proper functioning of the rolling stock,” the MMRC said.
These were critical aspects for the comfortable, speedy and safe journey of commuters every day.
“There are stabling Lines, wheel profiling facilities, test tracks to run safety checks on trains and other infrastructure related to passenger safety, comfort and maintenance of other infrastructure of Line 3. It will also house the Operation Control Centre,” the MMRC said.