‘Re-alignment of Metro line not possible’

The possiblity of re-alignment of the second line of Metro, the 32-km Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd stretch, was ruled out during a meeting looking as measures to work out the environment clearance for the car depot at Charkop that has delayed the project.

A meeting of top government officials to decide a way out for the project was conducted by the Chief Secretary Jayant Kumar Banthia in Mantralaya on Wednesday.

"Re-alignment of the Metro line is not possible, it would require major changes in the plan. It would impact the entire project. We have asked the Urban Development Department (UDD) to consider change in reservation," said Banthia.

The state government had signed a concession agreement in January 2010 for the Metro with a special purpose vehicle comprising Reliance Infrastructure, Canada's SNC Lavalin and Reliance Communication Ltd. The concessionaire had achieved financial closure in March 2011, but the construction is yet to start due to issues such as delay in environmental clearance for the Charkop car depot plot, which falls under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ).

As per the new CRZ rules, a car shed for parking the Metro can be constructed on stilts at the site, but washing and maintenance cannot be undertaken due to environment concerns.

MMRDA had proposed an adjoining plot, which belongs to the state government and is reserved for residential use. A change in reservation of the land needs to be taken up by the government for MMRDA to consider the adjoining plot for use of maintenance.

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