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Pune Metro: Ajit Pawar promises state share for extension of corridors
Deputy chief minister and finance minister Ajit Pawar on Friday provided a boost to the second phase of the Pune metro by making provision for extension of corridors
PUNE: Deputy chief minister and finance minister Ajit Pawar on Friday provided a boost to the second phase of the Pune metro by making provision for extension of the metro.
Pawar in his budget speech said, “Pune metro’s Vanaz to Ramwadi and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to Swargate lines are near-complete. But other extensions such as Swargate to Katraj, PCMC to Nigdi, Vanaz to Chandni chowk, Ramwadi to Wagoli, Swargate to Hadapsar, Hadapsar to Kharadi, and Khadakwasla to Swargate have been proposed. The detailed project reports (DPRs) for the same are in the pipeline, and the state government will bear its share for the extension project.”
Pawar presented the state budget for the year 2022-23 in the Maharashtra legislative assembly and made provisions for several projects. As he hails from Pune district and is the guardian minister for Pune, he kept aside seed capital for many proposed projects in the budget so that primary work on these can start this year.
“Pune’s third metro line from Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar is being executed by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA). Work on the third line has already started and its cost is Rs8,313 crore,” Pawar said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the Pune metro on March 6 after which it was thrown open to the public. It was during the PM’s Pune visit that Pawar appealed to the central government saying, “The state government will contribute its share for the first two lines of all extension projects but the central government too needs to contribute the same share as it will help boost the metro project in the city.”
In the first phase, the central and state governments each have contributed 20% while the local municipal corporation has contributed a 10% share. The remaining 50% was a loan. Recently however, the central government said it would only contribute 10% share for extension corridors even as the state has been requesting the centre to contribute the share it had earlier promised (20%).
