By Apurva Bhatt

The ongoing protests by citizens and environment groups lead to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announcing in the legislative council on Wednesday that the plan for the Metro III car shed at Aarey Colony had been stayed.

Remarks Rishi Agarwal, a environmentalist, “This is definitely good news and we have won the battle. But if the government thinks of shifting the car shed at another location where tress will be cut and there is any harm to environment than we will protest.” Fadnavis was replying to starred questions by Prakash Binsale (Nationalist Congress Party). Binsale said various organizations had opposed the cutting of trees for the car shed as it will affect the green lungs of the city. Of 2,298 trees the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has proposed to transplant 2,044 and hack 254 to make way for the car shed.

The proposal has been pending with the civic Tree Authority Committee after being opposed by corpoartors and committee members. The committee is headed by the municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte. Fadnavis said, "The Tree Authority has suggested transplanting 800 trees at the same place as the survival rate of transplanted trees is 90-95% in the same soil." Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray had last month visited the picnic spot and said the Metro III project should be scrapped if it adversely affected the environment. Along with civic groups, the Congress, NCP and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena have voiced opposition to any construction inside the green lung.