Agarwaltimes - Scrap Metro III if it harms people and the environment, says Aaditya

MUMBAI: Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray has said that Metro III should be scrapped if it adversely affects people and the environment. He said the Shiv Sena will agitate to save Aarey Colony's green cover. 

On Friday, Thackeray visited the site of the Metro III car shed near Aarey's most-visited picnic spot. He met members of the Save Aarey movement, including Rishi Agarwal, Manish Sethi, Jyoti Sharma and Stalin Dayanand, and assured them that the Sena is with the Save Aarey movement and not a single tree would be allowed to be cut down. 

To make way for the car shed project, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has proposed to transplant 2,044 trees and hack 254. But activists say transplantation drives almost always fail, which means that most of a total of 2,298 trees will be effectively removed. 

Thackeray said Metro III is worth Rs 26,000 crore while the proposed coastal road from Nariman Point to Malad is worth Rs 8,000 crore. Thus, he said, if the coastal road is found to be a viable solution for the city's transport problems without damaging the environment, there is no need for Metro III. 

He said the Metro project will also have other adverse effects. "It would dislocate people from Girgaon; many buildings are getting affected. Secondly, the cricket pitches at Cross Maidan and Azad Maindan will get damaged." 

Stalin Dayanand gave Thackeray Save Aarey's memorandum. The Yuva Sena chief said he will meet the chief minister on the issue. "If something is wrong, we have the right to oppose it, even though we are in government," he said. Thackeray was accompanied by minister of state for housing Ravindra Waikar, who also represents the Jogeshwari assembly constituency, former mayor and MLA Sunil Prabhu, and local Sena corporator Bala Nar.

Agarwaltimes