Villagers oppose MMRDA move to acquire their land for Metro 5

Over 100 families have opposed Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's move to acquire their land at Govegaon near Kalyan-Bhiwandi road in Maharashtra for construction work of Metro Line-5, which will connect Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan.

Thane(Maharashtra): The Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan Metro Line 5 project might hit a roadblock as over 100 families have opposed the proposal to construct a car shed on their land at Govegaon near Kalyan-Bhiwandi road in Maharashtra.

The villagers said they do not want to lose their land to make way for a car shed as it is their only source of livelihood.

"The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) wants to acquire around 36 hectares of our land in Govegaon for a Metro car shed. The move will affect as many as 100 families," secretary of Kon-Gove Sangharh Samiti, Pandharinath Bhoir said in a press conference on Friday.

Neeta Mahajan, a lawyer, who represents the committee, said, "Villagers have their houses, shops and small-scale workshops on this land."

The MMRDA had last year sent notices to the residents stating that it wanted to acquire the land for the car shed.

"We are not against the Metro project. We just want the MMRDA to use government land instead. We are not ready to give our land as we will lose our livelihood," said Bhoir, adding that the compensation offered by the development authority is less than the market value.

Metro Line 5 is likely to benefit over 2.9 lakh people, as it will cut the travel time between Thane and Kalyan.