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Congress opposes deputy CM’s Neo Metro on Pune’s HCMTR, BJP cautious
Abhay Chhajed, Aba Bagul write to Ajit Pawar stating that he must reconsider decision on Neo Metro as it would not suffice city’s traffic requirements
A day after Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar recommended major changes to the High Capacity Mass Transit Route (HCMTR) and proposed to build a Neo Metro on the route, former city Congress president Abhay Chhajed and corporator Aba Bagul wrote to Pawar stating that he must reconsider the decision as it would not suffice the city’s traffic requirements.
Both Chhajed and Bagul opposed Pawar’s proposal saying the HCMTR project is the need of the hour.
In his letter to Pawar, Chhajed and Bagul said, “The city’s traffic is increasing day by day and so HCMTR is an important project for the city. HCMTR would be an elevated road of 24 metres width, of which 8 metres have been marked for public transport. In Mumbai, the existing eastern freeway and the western express highway are being widely used and developed even though the metro is being built as public transport. Similarly, in Pune, HCMTR would prove to be important.
“The Neo Metro would be for only eight metres. Keeping in mind the city’s requirement, HCMTR must be built and Neo Metro should not be thought upon,” they said.
While the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Congress who are in alliance at the state government expressed opposite views on the issue, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) maintained a cautious side and said that it would take a call depending on what is best for the city.
PMC mayor Murlidhar Mohol, who was also present at the Friday’s meeting, said, “Pawar has only suggested for a Neo Metro instead of HCMTR. We will consider the technical feasibility and also the monetary and time factor and then take a final call. Whatever suits the public’s need and the city’s requirement will be considered. Pawar surely seemed positive about Neo Metro.”
The mayor said that it is for the NCP and the Congress to decide on their differences and that he would not make any political statement on the issue.
Vijay Kumbhar, right to information (RTI) activist, said, “The purpose of HCMTR is to fulfil the traffic needs of the city. The issue should not be politicised. There are several loopholes in the project which should be looked into and the problems faced while acquiring land should be solved.”
PMC commissioner Saurabh Rao had recently scrapped the HCMTR tendering process as the cost was inflated. Two international bids were submitted, one by the Adani Group comprising Welspun and China Third Engineering and the second bid was by Gawar Group and the Chinese firm Longgin.
PMC commissioner told Pawar that they could not bear the cost.
As per the previous plan, HCMTR was supposed to be an elevated road with six lanes envisaged as an inner ring road of 35.96km with two dedicated lanes for the Bus rapid transit system (BRTS), with 26 stations, and four lanes for four-wheelers with 17 up-ramps and 16 down ramps.
What is Neo Metro
Maharashtra Metro Rail corporation has introduced the Neo Metro, which has elements of the tram, metro, bus and BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System). It is a hybrid model. The metro coaches will run on tyres in this model instead of heavy steel wheels. The corridor for Neo Metro will be dedicated and elevated. This model is cost-effective and cheaper than the metro. If the number of passengers increases, this model can be converted into the metro by using the same infrastructure. This model has already recommended at Pimpri- Chinchwad.
