E-Paper
Seven-year delay in Katraj-Kondhwa road widening pushes land acquisition costs
Katraj-Kondhwa road widening faces ₹400 crore cost hike due to land acquisition delays, prompting PMC to seek additional state funding.
The seven-year delay in the widening of the Katraj-Kondhwa road has led to a significant increase in land acquisition costs, now rising by ₹400 crore to a total of ₹1,100 crore. Land acquisition remains the biggest hurdle for the project, forcing the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to seek additional funds from the state government to cover the increased expenses.
The Katraj-Kondhwa road was originally planned as an 84-meter-wide road in the development plan. The Municipal Corporation approved the project on October 31, 2018, with this road extending from Rajas Society to Khadi Machine Chowk and up to the Pisoli municipal limits. The stretch from Rajas Society to Kapilamrut Dairy has already been completed while the remaining work on the Katraj-Kondhwa road has been stalled due to a lack of land acquisition.
Digambar Banger, deputy engineer of the land acquisition department, said, “Initially, ₹710 crore was required for land acquisition as per the original proposal. However, to reduce the high costs involved, the PMC decided to scale down the road width from 84 meters to 50 meters. After reducing the width, the revised cost for land acquisition came to ₹280 crore. Of this, the then deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that ₹200 crore would be provided by the state government. However, only ₹139 crore has been transferred to the PMC so far.”
However, now PMC is against the proposal to increase the width to 84 metres.
He explained, “The 3.5-kilometre stretch from Rajas Society to Pisoli has been divided into three segments for better management. The land will be acquired in stages: from Rajas Society to Kanha Hotel, Kanha Hotel to Khadi Machine Chowk, and Khadi Machine Chowk to the Pisoli (PMC limit). This phased approach will allow for efficient allocation of funds and ensure smooth execution of the work.”
Sudhir Kadam, Executive Engineer of the PMC Road Department, said, “Currently, we are focusing on acquiring 430 square meters of land which is crucial for the Katraj Chowk flyover landing. There are a total of nine families and PMC will provide cash compensation to them for the land acquisition.”
If the Katraj-Kondhwa road is to be widened to its original 84-meter plan, a total of 2.94 lakh square meters of land is required. Over the past seven years, the PMC has managed to acquire only 18,250 square meters through compromises. This leaves nearly 2.76 lakh square meters of land yet to be acquired.
The remaining land acquisition will require an additional ₹883 crore. Currently, the PMC has only ₹72 crore from its budgetary allocation and ₹139 crore provided by the state government. To bridge the gap, the PMC plans to request ₹400 crore in funding from the state government.
