Metro phase-3 affected to be rehabilitated in the same area: Government

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Government today assured the state Assembly that residents of the 28 buildings in Kalbadevi and Girgaum in south Mumbai, to be demolished to make way for the phase 3 of Metro, will be rehabilitated in the same area.

"The Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro 3 route will be underground. However, some buildings will be affected to make way for movement of machinery," Minister of State for Urban Development Ranjit Patil said, replying to a calling attention notice by the Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil ( Congress).

This phase of metro is expected to start operating from 2020, the minister said.

The area has a sizable Maharashtrian population, and political parties, including the ruling alliance partner Shiv Sena, have opposed demolition of the buildings.

The minister assured that Marathi-speakers would not be displaced due to the project. The residents of Girgaum and Thakurdwar have planned a day-long bandh on March 18 to protest the imminent eviction.