Metro 2A and Metro 7 corridor plans get a boost

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has given another push for the Dahisar-DN Nagar Metro-2A corridor and the Dahisar east-Andheri (east) Metro-7 corridor with the authority managing to secure land for the metro car depot for both the corridors.

The development has come as a huge relief for the MMRDA as the land scarcity across the city was acting as a predicament to acquire lands for building metro depots.

The best example is the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3 underground, which is still facing stiff opposition by environmentalists for selecting Aarey Colony as the location for metro car depot.

In addition, for the Metro-7 corridor the MMRDA was in talks with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for its 17-hectare Western Express Highway (WEH) touch land parcel in Dahisar (east). The AAI has now agreed to give away their land in Dahisar for the metro car depot.

“Followed by the confirmation of the AAI, we had given AAI two options of Gorai and Mankhurd for alternate land in return of AAI’s land in Dahisar. The AAI has given us the confirmation that they will be going ahead with Gorai land parcel,” said an MMRDA official.

For the Metro-2A, MMRDA was in talks with a private trust located in Charkop for 16-hectares of land for the metro depot. However, the negotiations did not happen after which the MMRDA decided to go ahead with land owned by MMRDA itself in Charkop for the metro car depot.

The civil work on both the metro corridors is expected to start post monsoons and the deadline for both the corridors is 2019.