PMC’s Nagar Road widening hits financial roadblock
The ambitious project has hit a financial roadblock with the civic body anticipating a cost of ₹916 crores for the acquisition of land required for widening the seven kilometre stretch
While the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has announced plans to widen the Pune-Ahmednagar Road from the existing 45 metres to 60 metres in response to escalating traffic concerns amid a growing IT sector and expanding PMC limits, the ambitious project has hit a financial roadblock with the civic body anticipating a cost of ₹916 crores for the acquisition of land required for widening the seven kilometre stretch from Yerawada to Aple Ghar within the old PMC limits. This in turn has led to an estimated increase of ₹294 crores in overall costs of the project.
The seriousness of the traffic situation at Nagar Road has prompted the PMC to devise an integrated transport plan encompassing initiatives such as grade separators, flyovers and service roads in addition to the road-widening. Notably, the plan involves widening of the seven kilometre stretch from Yerawada to Aple Ghar from the existing 45 metres to 60 metres as indicated in the PMC’s development plan (DP).
Sharad Gharge from the land acquisition and management department of the PMC, said, “We have initiated land acquisition on Nagar Road in two phases: Yerawada to Ramwadi and Ramwadi to Aple Ghar (old PMC limits). The special land acquisition officer has acquired some of the land in the Nagar Road area. The remaining process is underway.”
Upendra Vaidya, an official of the PMC road department, said, “At present, the road between Gunjan Theatre and Shastri Nagar Road and CTR Company signal and Chandan Nagar Chowk is 60 metres in width. In between, it is 40 to 45 metres in width up to Aple Ghar (old PMC limits). In the DP, the width of Nagar Road is 60 metres. Due to increasing traffic, there is a need for road-widening. Viman Nagar Chowk, Vadgaon Sheri Chowk, CTR Company Chowk, Chandan Nagar, Kharadi bypass are the places where there are traffic jams due to the narrow road.”
Documents housed by the land acquisition and management department of the PMC mention that despite the ongoing land acquisition efforts under the supervision of a designated officer, the process has encountered significant delays in areas such as Yerawada, Vadgaon Sheri and Lohegaon. Presently, a substantial sum of ₹802 crores is pending payment after the approval of the draft award while an additional payment of ₹114.56 crores is pending for the widening of the road from Vadgaon Sheri, Lohegaon, Kharadi, Nagar Road CTR Company to the Municipal Corporation.
The slow pace of land acquisition has caused a cascading effect, leading to an increase in costs and exacerbating the traffic congestion at major road junctions such as Viman Nagar Chowk, Inorbit Mall Chowk and Shastri Nagar. Moreover, the failure to implement the proposed service roads has further contributed to the traffic woes. According to PMC land acquisition and management department officials, there is a need for prompt funding to facilitate the ongoing land acquisition process. With the principal amount for land acquisition remaining insufficient and accruing a 12% interest annually, the PMC faces mounting financial pressure, underscoring the critical need for expedited action and allocation of necessary resources.