Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray orders withdrawal of police charges against Aarey protesters

In a major relief for the Aarey protesters, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday ordered the withdrawal of charges levelled against them by the police. The State Home Department will start the procedure in this regard to facilitate the individuals who protested against the felling of trees for the construction of the proposed Mumbai Metro 3 car shed at Aarey in October 2019. At least 38 students and activists were arrested and booked for "assault to deter public servant from discharging duty" and "unlawful assembly".

This directive was given on a request by his son and Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray during the Cabinet meeting earlier in the day. It was backed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and his other Cabinet colleagues. One of the first decisions of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was to stop the work of the Aarey metro car shed project.

Read: Activists, Villagers Tie Rakhis To Trees In Aarey Colony

Read: Fadnavis Cries Foul Over Aarey Forest Decision, Continues To Oppose Shifting Of Car Shed

The dispute over Metro car shed

The Mumbai Metro 3 project comprises a 33.5 km underground corridor running along the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ route. In total, there will be 27 stations out of which 26 will be underground. At present, nearly 78% of the tunnelling work has been completed.  

There has been a long dispute about the location of the Metro car shed. According to environmental activists, Aarey is a forest area and any construction work would hamper the ecological balance. On the other hand, the Devendra Fadnavis regime highlighted that the long-term gains of the project would offshoot the temporary damage caused due to the felling of trees.  

Widespread protests were held to protest against the Aarey land being used for the purpose of building a car shed for Mumbai Metro 3. As the Bombay High Court upheld the permission granted by the Brihanmumbai Mumbai Corporation’s (BMC) Tree Authority in October, over 2,185 trees were razed overnight. This led to a petition in the SC that ordered a freeze on the cutting of any more trees till further orders.

Read: BJP Terms Uddhav Govt 'weird' For Stay On Aarey Car Shed As BMC Approves Metro 2A Tree-cut

While Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray asserted that a single leaf of Aarey would not be cut, a report submitted by a 4-member panel constituted by the MVA government in January 2020 recommended that Aarey was the best possible site for the construction of the car shed as the other alternative places were not financially viable. 

Read: Maharashtra Govt Reserves 600 Acres Of Mumbai's Aarey Land As Forest; 'first In Any Metro'

(Image credits: PTI)