Decks have been cleared for the construction of the Metro-4 corridor within the mangrove buffer zone with the Bombay High Court (HC) allowing the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to construct piers for an approach road and spur line to Mogharpada depot at Thane in Mumbai. The court directed MMRDA to comply with the conditions imposed by state environment impact assessment authority while granting coastal regulation zone (CRZ) clearance for the work. The 32.32-km elevated corridor will have 32 stations along the line that runs parallel to the eastern express highway, covering Ghatkopar and Mulund. In the MMRDA‘s petition, the proposed car depot at Mogharpada forms an integral part of the project, which the authority plans to utilize for routine repairs as well as the major overhaul of coaches and repair, replacement and testing of heavy equipment. MMRDA informed that the car depot, spread over 36.50 hectares, is proposed to be constructed at 200 metres of the existing road, and 16 piers of the approach road and four piers of the spur line fall in CRZ area. Neither of the piers nor the spur line, however, affects mangroves.
