Balajinagar to get new metro station with no financial burden on Pune civic body

The civic body will provide the necessary land for the station, while Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited will bear the construction cost

Pune’s metro expansion plan gets a boost with the approval of a new metro station at Balajinagar on the proposed extension of Pune Metro line-1 by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) standing committee on Friday.

The committee okayed the station proposal presented by municipal commissioner Rajendra Bhosale at the meeting held on Friday. (HT FILE)

The new station will be built without placing any financial burden on PMC as mentioned in the proposal. The civic body will provide the necessary land for the station, while Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro) will bear the construction cost.

The committee okayed the station proposal presented by municipal commissioner Rajendra Bhosale at the meeting held on Friday. The decision comes as a relief for residents and passengers in Balajinagar and Dhankawdi areas, who had been requesting a metro station in their locality.

The idea for an additional station in Balajinagar was discussed after it was noted that the proposed metro route between Swargate and Katraj had a significant gap between stations. The metro route’s detailed project report (DPR) proposed stations at Market Yard, Padmavati, and Katraj. However, the distance between Padmavati and Katraj is 1,900 metres, which exceeds the recommended limit of 1,500 metres between two metro stations. This prompted local representatives to request a fourth station at Balajinagar. The cost of the new metro station will be ₹200 crore as mentioned in the proposal.

One of the senior Maha-Metro officials said, “How can Maha-Metro bear the cost of a new station? It is a public demand. PMC and Maha-Metro will have to find the best possible solution to cover the cost of Balajinagar station. Proposal has not been passed in the general body meeting yet. So, we are optimistic.”