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After Yerawada, PMC serves notice to Maha Metro to stop work at Shivajinagar
The PMC had warned the Maha Metro about this in July 2023 but the Maha Metro did not pay any heed, and it has now taken the PMC till December 17 to serve the stop work notice to the Maha Metro
After Yerawada metro station, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has now ordered the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha Metro) which is executing the Pune Metro, to stop work on the Shivajinagar underground metro station entry and exit points, saying that the work is encroaching Ganesh Khind Road and causing inconvenience to both pedestrians and motorists. The PMC had warned the Maha Metro about this in July 2023 but the Maha Metro did not pay any heed, and it has now taken the PMC till December 17 to serve the stop work notice to the Maha Metro. In the meantime, work on the Shivajinagar underground metro station (entry and exit points) and Pune Metro line 1 and 2 has almost been completed by the Maha Metro.
The PMC served notice to the Maha Metro after residents and civic activists raised concerns over traffic issues at Ganesh Khind Road. Earlier too, the PMC had tried to communicate with the Maha Metro but the latter did not respond. Shankar Thorat, an office-bearer of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), sent a letter (complaint) about Ganesh Khind Road in July 2023. Responding to the complaint, PMC commissioner Vikram Kumar sent a letter to Maha Metro officials on December 15, and issued notice to stop work on Ganesh Khind Road. In the letter, Kumar said that while the PMC had begun widening Ganesh Khind Road from the existing 36 metres to 45 metres, the structures built by the Maha Metro were affecting the road-widening work. Kumar instructed that the Maha Metro stop the work immediately, get the revised plan for Shivajinagar metro station approved by the PMC road and building permission department, and then resume work.
Bipin Shinde, executive engineer of the PMC building permission department, said, “The road department has raised objection to the Maha Metro work at the Shimla Office Chowk towards Shivajinagar metro station and has written a letter requesting to stop the work. According to the road department, the PMC has proposed road widening on Ganesh Khind Road from the existing 36 metres to 45 metres as mentioned in the development plan (DP) of Pune city. However, the Maha Metro has ignored the proposed plan and constructed structures on 36-metre-wide roads. Besides, the Maha Metro has constructed an entry and exit point on a 30-metre road for the Shivajinagar metro station. Therefore, the road has become narrow and created a bottleneck.”
Atul Gadgil, director (works) of the Maha Metro, said, “We have received a letter from the PMC and we are replying to it.”
Mukund Kirdat, AAP spokesperson, said, “We were pursuing the issue since the last five months. Finally, the PMC served a stop work notice to the Maha Metro. The Maha Metro is not following the city’s development plan. The municipal commissioner has ordered them to stop construction. It is a lack of planning and coordination which is wasting the taxpayers’ money. Both the PMC and Maha Metro are responsible for this. The approach of both the agencies is very careless.”
Rahul Mane, a resident of the Shivajinagar area, said, “It is really frustrating. The officials from both government organisations seem to lack common sense in their work. The Maha Metro is doing work without following the detailed project report (DPR). On the other hand, the PMC should have spoken up when the Maha Metro started working without consulting them. Because of the careless behaviour of both these agencies, people are facing problems. The state government should investigate into the matter, hold the responsible officials accountable, and take necessary action to fix the situation.”
Uday Galande, who lives in Ramwadi, said, “The Maha Metro has put up pillars on the road not just in Shivajinagar and Yerawada but also in Ramwadi, causing traffic problems. I believe the PMC is supposed to review the design and raise objections. However, people and activists are raising concerns. It seems that the PMC officials are not concerned about the people of Pune. The main issue is the ego clash between PMC and Maha Metro officials, which is wasting public money and time. They are not working together or discussing important issues, leading to difficulties for the people.”
Earlier, the Maha Metro acknowledged the PMC’s concerns over the Yerawada metro station entry-exit point on Nagar Road and decided to revisit the plan and give alternate access to the Yerawada locality.
