MVA jolted as Bombay HC stays land transfer, metro carshed work

MUMBAI: In a jolt to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted an interim stay on the Collector's order transferring 102 acres of saltpan lands at Kanjurmarg for constructing the Mumbai metro carshed.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G.S. Kulkarni also ordered the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to maintain status quo on the land till the Centre and other parties claiming title rights on the disputed land are heard.

The next hearing will be held in February on the tussle involving the state and Centre over the ownership of the land where the carshed is proposed to come up, even as the state may consider challenging the stay in the Supreme Court.

The Centre had challenged the October 1, 2020 order of Mumbai Suburban District Collector - allotting the land for the construction of the Mumbai metro carshed - claiming the land belong to the Centre's Salt Department.

"We cannot allow the Collector's order. The order has to go. We are admitting the petition and granting reliefs as sought by the petitioner (Centre)," the court ruled.

In October, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had scrapped the plans for the carshed to come up in the eco-sensitive Aarey Colony and shifted it to Kanjurmarg, as the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the move by the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress government.

Sena Ministers Aditya Thackeray and Anil Parab said that they would first study the detailed court order before commenting, while NCP President and Minister Jayant Patil said that this is not the final verdict of the court.

"This land is crucial for the Mumbai Metro Lines 3, 4, 6, and 14, plus it will save almost Rs 5,500 crore of the state government, and become a nodal point for the one crore citizens," said Aditya Thackeray. "The state BJP is creating obstacles in state's development plans. In June, Union Minister Piyush Goyal had recommended that the Kanjurmarg land must be handed over to the state government. Suddenly, the Salt Department stake a claim over the land under the influence of the state BJP," said Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant.

Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis asked Thackeray to let go of their ego and allow the carshed work to come up at Aarey Colony as originally planned, while senior leader Kirit Somaiya demanded the CM must apologise in the matter. (IANS)

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