CM Devendra Fadnavis says 80% of families hit by Metro-3 plan to get 600 sq ft houses

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while reiterating the government's stance that the Metro-III plan will roll ahead whatever may be the cost, said the affected families will be rehabilitated in houses double the size of their current ones.

Families with houses measuring up to 300 sq ft will get 600 sq ft in redevelopment projects. Houses bigger than 300 sq ft will get 30% more area in the new houses.

As of now, 80% of the families have got less than 300 sq ft. MMRDA will redevelop this entire area. "In this project, 1,727 families from Girgaum and Kalbadevi are going to be affected. They will be rehabilitated at the same place or the same locations. No one will be thrown out of Mumbai," Fadnavis said.

The state has planned the Rs23,136-crore Colaba-Bandra-Seepz underground Metro-3 line that will be 33 km long with 27 stations. Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had said that if the Marathi manoos is pushed out of Mumbai due to the construction of the corridor, it will oppose it tooth and nail.

Fadnavis said the affected families will be shifted to Mhada transit camps or be paid a rent amount till the project gets completed. He also said that besides these families, some 1,600 slums have been affected. "The project will be undertaken in a way that the existing structures will not get damaged. We have also decided to carry out the social impact assessment study of these areas. We are making a list of dilapidated and old buildings to ensure their safety during tunnel work," Fadnavis added.

He said the Metro-3 will save commuting time. "Nearly 15 lakh commuters will avail of the benefits of this underground Metro service."

BJP MLA Raj Purohit welcomed the government's decision. He said they are here for development without displacing people. "There are many people from my family who have got houses and shops in this area, so they are also going to be affected. However, the chief minister has made sure that each of them will be rehabilitated, so no one should oppose this project," he said.