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Part 2, Whither HCMTR?: Changing width of road will create legal, tech problems and delay project, says Aba Bagul
Aba Bagul is a leader of the Congress party and has served as deputy mayor and leader of opposition in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)
What is your view on city mayor and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s instruction to bring down the width of the road from 24 metres to eight metres?
It is not technically possible to change the width of the road which the deputy chief minister is suggesting. PMC approved the High Capacity Mass Transit Route ( HCMTR ) which got a go-ahead in two development plans, namely from 1987 to 2007 and 2007 to 2027. The HCMTR has been marked on development plan (DP) and the road width has been shown as 24 metres in the plan, so PMC is following the DP rules while acquiring the land for the project. Now, if the changes are made to the width of the road than the land acquisition will become a problem for the civic body, the landowners who have given up their land for the project might also go to the court.
Why do you want the width of the road to be 24 metres and not 8 metres as suggested by Pawar?
Infrastructure development projects like HCMTR are undertaken just once and not daily so this is the best chance to widen the road. The project cost is indeed high now if the width of the road is 24 metre, but in the future, this cost will be nominal.
Pawar has suggested restricting HCMTR for public transport only. What is your view on the same?
PMC has already dedicated two lanes for Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in the project. First, let the road be erected then it can be decided if private vehicles should be allowed to ply on it or not. Whatever decision is taken it should be based on the future demand for traffic needs.
Some NGO’s are raising opposition for HCMTR. What is your view on it?
This project was suggested in 1982 and is one of the best solutions for traffic woes. While undertaking this project both PMC and the state government had invited suggestions and objections for the same. If the residents are against the project they should have taken the legal course long back. Why are they raising objections now, when the project has already been initiated.
As the project is facing opposition from some parties and stakeholders, do you think it will be delayed? What is the solution to execute this project at the earliest?
If changes are made now as per the instructions of the city mayor and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar then the project will be delayed. The landowners who have handed over the land for the project might also go to the court which might further delay the project.
On the political front as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a majority in the PMC, I don’t think they will support these changes suggested by Pawar. The project was backed by the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also.
As the tenders for the project were scrapped, now instead of making any changes, as per normal procedure PMC needs to re-tender and start the project again.
