New Delhi: Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) has awarded the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) a 10-year contract to operate and maintain its underground Line-3 after Delhi Metro emerged as the lowest bidder in the tendering process recently.

The Kick-Off meeting was held today in the headquarters of MMRCL in Mumbai wherein Dr. Amit Kumar Jain, Director (Operations & Services), DMRC thanked Ms Ashwini Bhide, Managing Director, MMRCL and assured that with the vast experience of more than 20 years of operating metro services in Delhi covering around 400 kms network, DMRC, which is now the lifeline of Delhi, is committed to achieve excellence in financial capital of the country and serve people of Mumbai with safe, reliable, comfortable and high-quality service.

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“The counsel for MMRCL submits that her clients have already filed an affidavit that no trees have been or would be cut in any manner. The said undertaking by the MMRCL director has already been taken on record and MMRCL shall be strictly bound by the same,” the bench, also comprising Justices S R Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia, said.

The Supreme Court was hearing the petition challenging cutting of trees in Mumbai’s Aarey colony for the metro car shed. The top court also granted last opportunity to Maharashtra government to allocate documents.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) earlier this month told the Supreme Court no trees have been cut in the Aarey forest region to make way for a metro shed and only “weeds and bushes” have been cleared.

“There is an approach road. Only weeds and bushes on the ground were cleared. There were branches that required trimming for vehicles to pass through. No trees were cut. They have shown photographs of some other areas,” said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the MMRCL, maintained before the bench led by Justice UU Lalit.

During the hearing of the matter on Wednesday, the counsel for petitioner said levelling and other work is still going on there even after filing an affidavit. To this, Rahul Chitnis, appearing for Maharashtra government, said that more time is needed to collate additional documents.

The Supreme Court in 2019 had taken suo motu cognisance of a letter petition addressed to the then Chief Justice of India by a law student seeking a stay on the felling of trees in the Aarey colony. The top court had restrained the authorities from cutting any more trees in the Aarey colony after the solicitor general had submitted on behalf of the state of Maharashtra that no further trees will be cut. The felling of trees in the colony has been opposed by green activists and residents.

The Bombay High Court in October 2019 refused to declare Aarey Colony a forest and declined to quash the Mumbai municipal corporation’s decision to allow the cutting of over 2,600 trees in the green zone to set up a metro car shed.

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The cost of the project has risen from Rs 23,136 crore to Rs 33,405 crore, with state government now contributing Rs 3,699.81 crore from the earlier Rs 2,402.7 crore.

One of the reasons for the cost escalation is the time taken in excavation due to basalt rock, adoption of bottom-up construction technology for space needs, addition cost incurred on account of rocky layers and to remove them and erecting steel decks for road traffic to allow building of underground stations in congested areas, according to a report in the Free Press Journal.

Moreover, the Metro 3 project will accommodate eight coaches as against six used by the Delhi Metro.

The state government’s approval came after it allowed work on the Metro 3 car shed in Aarey Colony in Goregaon (East).

Also, according to the revised estimates, the loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the plan stands at Rs 19,924 crore as against the earlier Rs 13,235 crore.

The Cabinet cleared a proposal to make a fresh demand to JICA to increase its loan amount, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) started the work on the 33-km long underground Colaba to SEEPZ in 2016 with a total of 26 underground station on the entire stretch.

Earlier this year during the budget session, then Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar announced that the Metro line will be extended by 2.5 km from Cuffe Parade to Navy Nagar, and a total of 27 stations will be added with an estimated additional cost of Rs 2,031 crore.

The initial plan was to complete the first phase of the project between Bandra and SEEPZ by December 2021, and the second phase from Bandra-Kurla Complex to Colaba by June 2022. After many delays, the MMRCL is now planning to complete the first phase by January 2024.

The Metro 3 car shed project in Aarey Colony was proposed by then Devendra Fadnavis government. Aarey is a forested patch in Mumbai and was once connected to the adjoining Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Some parts of Aarey were declared an eco-sensitive zone of the Park in 2016.

However, when the MMRCL under the Fadnavis government cut down more than 2,000 trees in the area for constructing the car shed in October 2019, massive protests took place, and petitions were filed in the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court challenging the move to build the metro shed in the area.

After the formation of Maha Vikas Aghadi government in November 2019, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray cancelled the car shed project in Aarey, and announced that the plan be shifted to marshy, salt pan area of Kanjurmarg. The Kanjurmarg area was stuck in litigations and lawsuits, with the Central government claiming stake on the land.

The Metro line will be of 33.5 km and the entire stretch will have underground 26 below the surface and 27 elevated stations. It is estimated that 17 lakh passengers will travel by the Metro Line 3 every day by 2031.

The Metro line will cut down on the travelling time between Colaba and the international airport to 50 minutes.

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A special bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta examined the entire episode and sought a status report with pictures on plantation, transplantation, and felling of trees in the Aarey Colony area of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared on behalf of BMC, assured the bench that no further cutting of trees has taken place in Aarey colony and added that complete status quo is being maintained after the apex court’s last order.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi also assured the court that “absolute” status quo has been maintained and that no trees have been cut since the top court’s previous order.

“There are no building projects, these are absolutely false allegations. The only project is that of Metro car shed,” he said.

Defending the construction of Metro shed project for expansion of Metro services in the city, Rohatgi said seven lakh vehicles are off the roads in Delhi because of metro services. It helps in cutting air pollution.

After hearing the arguments presented by legal representatives, the SC bench clarified that there is no stay on metro project and the stay order is only limited to the felling of trees in Aarey colony.

The matter will again be heard in court on November 15

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In a message posted on social media, Ms Bhide also referred to Friday’s Bombay High Court order on the Aarey trees and hit out at activists continuing to oppose the cutting of trees, insisting that it was their actions that were “illegal”.

“A new false propaganda is in the air that 15 days’ notice is required after tree authority order getting uploaded on website. This is absolutely baseless. Tree Authority order is issued on 13th Sept 19. 15 days r over on 28th Sept. Action awaited till Hon HC verdict was out,” Ashwini Bhide, Managing Director, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) said.

On September 17, when the Bombay High Court began hearing petitions challenging the cutting of Aarey trees, the petitioners’ counsel made a similar observation, stating that the Tree Authority’s order dated September 13 is illegal. On Friday the court cancelled  petitions and the process to raze the trees began mere hours later.

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