The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has invited for a public comment on the Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan Mumbai Metro 5 project. The function is slated for Friday morning at Thane Collectorate’s Niyojan Bhavan. Construction on the building began in 2018, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the groundbreaking ceremony. However, the Orange Line has encountered opposition from a variety of sources, resulting in construction work being completed in stages.
Locals between Bhiwandi and Kalyan were initially opposed to the 24.90km project when it began. As a result, the project was divided into two phases: Thane-Bhiwandi and Bhiwandi-Kalyan. The automobile depot was originally supposed to be located between Bhiwandi and Kalyan, however due to public opposition, the MMRDA was forced to change the project’s design.
In the first phase, the MMRDA made significant civil construction progress. However, the car depot required to make the Mumbai Metro 5 operational remains a pipe dream. The MMRDA has identified a property tract in Kasheli for the depot facility, but residents’ opposition has prevented the MMRDA from acquiring the land.
The MMRDA has invited the public to take part in the consultation. If the site is handed over to the MMRDA, the first phase of Mumbai Metro 5 will be 12.70km long. Otherwise, the route will remain an elevated viaduct and will never be used.
People are dissatisfied with the MMRDA’s approach to gaining public trust. The MMRDA, the argument goes, is having such discussions five years after the project was developed and put out to bid. Ideally, this step should have been completed before the project began.
Because the project’s second phase was rejected, the MMRDA revised the plan and sent it to the Maharashtra government for ratification and approval. In the second phase, the revised engineering plan asks for eight metro stations, seven elevated and one underground. Between Thane and Bhiwandi, the first phase includes nine stops. The underground part will be 3.5km long at Dhamankar Naka-Temghar before emerging to be elevated for the remainder of the 9.67km journey up to Kalyan Railway Station and the Kalyan APMC.
A 470m vehicular flyover is also proposed near the Dhamankar Naka flyover in Bhiwandi. Kasheli has been designated as the car depot for the entire 24.90km route. A tender has been issued for the construction of the auto depot, which is expected to cost Rs472.02 crore.
The MMRDA expects that the public engagement will reduce opposition to the project and allow construction to proceed smoothly.