Shifting the metro car shed from Aarey to an alternative site will result in hefty fare hike, said CM Devendra Fadnavis at a press conference at BJP headquarters on Monday. He suspected that certain people sent in 10,000 of the 13,000 objections received from the same IP address in Bangalore when the government asked for suggestions and objections to the disputed site.

The CM said if the alternative site was to be acquired, the state would have to pay a private owner at market price, which could be higher up to R5,000 crore. "Who will bear the escalated cost of the project? Obviously, the commuters will pay it through higher fares," he said at the meet organised to explain how the budgetary roll-back would benefit a poll-bound Maharashtra.