The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) on Tuesday said it would not use Colaba Woods during the construction of its ambitious Metro-3 project.
The project involves a 32-km underground line between Colaba-Bandra-Andheri (Seepz) with 27 stations.
According to the notice issued by the MMRC, initially only a small part of the Colaba Woods garden was considered to be used during the construction of a station. However after taking cognizance of the views expressed by various organizations and residents, the area within Colaba Woods has been completely excluded by modifying the requirement for the construction area. The notice stated: “The proposed station adjacent to Colaba Woods is located within the civic body garden portion, which is a part of the Development Plan road. No part of the underground station infringes on Colaba Woods.”
“We have issued the notice to prevent misinformation being circulated about the project so that residents can get a clear picture,” said MMRC managing director Ashwini Bhide. Residents are not convinced and have demanded a 200m buffer zone around the garden. “The MMRC has conveniently stated that it would not use any portion of the Colaba Woods garden for construction. But we feel that the building activity that would be undertaken near the garden is likely to have a huge impact on the exotic variety of trees in the garden,” said a resident. “The MMRC needs to create a buffer zone around Colaba Woods where no construction will take place. They should not have any construction activity outside the Colaba Woods garden gate,” said Manjeet Kripalani, a resident of Cuffe Parade.