Sources: Eknath Shinde immediately reverses a significant Uddhav Thackeray decision

According to sources, Eknath Shinde has tried to change the position of the Uddhav Thackeray administration on the contentious Metro car shed project in Mumbai just hours after taking office as chief minister of Maharashtra. According to reports, Mr. Shinde has instructed Attorney General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni to argue in court that the Devendra Fadnavis administration will proceed with plans to construct the Metro vehicle shed at Aarey Colony in 2019.

The controversy began in 2019 when the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for permission to cut down trees at Aarey Colony, an urban forest that many regard to as Mumbai’s “green lung.” This provoked a wave of protests by environmental activists in Mumbai.

Soon after the BMC approved the project, protests erupted. The location chosen for the Metro vehicle shed is not classified as biodiversity or forest land, the then-chief minister Fadnavis claimed as protests increased. The Metro will lessen carbon footprint, he added. “We preserve trees in order to lessen our carbon footprint. We therefore need to comprehend how much the subterranean Metro will lower our carbon impact “added he.

After the Assembly elections later that year, the Shiv Sena broke up its alliance with the BJP, and Uddhav Thackeray’s Maha Vikas Aghadi government was established. Even while they were the BJP’s allies, the Shiv Sena has been opposed to the idea to construct the shed in Aarey. Last year, Chief Minister Thackeray stated infrastructure projects carried out in a hurry can result in waste and not real growth in response to the BJP’s criticism of the project’s relocation.

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