Khadakwasla to Hadapsar metro DPR may soon get PMC nod

Pune Municipal Corporation may approve the detailed project report for the Khadakwasla to Hadapsar metro route in the next general body meeting.

Pune municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar on Monday said that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) may give its nod to the detailed project report (DPR) of the proposed Khadakwasla to Hadapsar metro route in the next general body meeting. His remarks came a week after the Pune Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (PUMTA) meeting during which, various transport projects were discussed.

PMC may approve give the detailed project report (DPR) of the proposed Khadakwasla to Hadapsar metro route in the next general body meeting (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

“We discussed various projects including metro projects. The PUMTA has already given its nod to the metro from Khadakwasla to Hadapsar. Since the PUMTA has already approved it, the PMC will give its nod to the DPR in the next few days. After getting the general body’s nod, the PMC will be able to submit the proposal to the state government,” Kumar said on Monday.

Once the state government approves the project, it will have to be approved by the Centre which is sharing the financial burden with the Maharashtra government and the PMC. Kumar said that both the Maha Metro and the Tata Group have evinced interest in developing the Khadakwasla to Hadapsar metro route. With both agencies interested in developing the Khadakwasla to Hadapsar metro route, the PMC would need to take a call on the same, a civic official said. Elected representatives are of the view that the work should be undertaken by the Tata Group for speedy execution, he said.

Last year, the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha Metro) had submitted proposals for different metro routes including Vanaz to Chandni Chowk, Ramwadi to Wagholi, Khadakwasla to Swargate, SNDT to Warje, Swargate to Hadapsar, Hadapsar to Kharadi, and the high-capacity mass-transit route (HCMTR) in the central parts of the city. Work on metro line 3 (Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar) has been jointly undertaken by the Tata Group and the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) based on a public-private partnership (PPP) model, and the Tata Group has established the Pune IT City Metro Rail Limited as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for implementation of this project. Kumar said that the Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar metro line 3 will be extended first to Civil Court and later to Hadapsar. Meanwhile, the proposed Swargate to Katraj metro route is still awaiting approval from the central government. Once the Centre approves it, the Maha Metro will be able to start work on the same.