Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) is the planning and development authority for Pune Metro region (total area of 7,356.51 square kilometres), with an outlook towards channelising growth in an orderly manner. It has been set up as a legally empowered and self-financing corporate body by the urban development department of the government of Maharashtra. Pune Metro region is the third largest metropolitan region in the country after Delhi and Bengaluru-Mysore Metro authorities. It covers a huge industrial, residential, and recreational area between the cities of Pune and Mumbai. In terms of urban expanse, Pune Metro region is one of the fastest growing centres in the country and is poised to be the growth engine for Maharashtra.
With approximately 60 lakh-70 lakh people set to be added to the region’s population, PMRDA has already started working on a blueprint of development for the next 30-40 years. PMRDA is building this blueprint and taking up projects to ensure sustainable development of the region by offering high-quality public infrastructure. The idea is to not only improve the lifestyle standards of the people, but also attract domestic and global investment for future development. As a first step, projects like ring road, metro, township planning scheme, among others, will be taken up. To initiate the process, a high-tech survey of existing land use (ELU) has been conducted using satellite images to prepare digital maps. An MoU with the government of Singapore was also recently signed for the master development plan of PMR area and the construction of demonstrative centres. The Singapore government will also set-up an inland logistics park in the region, along with a central business district (CBD), making Pune a worldclass business and residential hub.
From building a 10-lane, 129-km ring road, which will evolve into an economic corridor in itself, to shaping the metro between Hinjewadi and Shivajinagar through a public-private-partnership model to facilitate decongestion, many steps are being taken for improving the traffic situation. The central government recently approved the ring-road project and has also agreed to finance this project, while the metro has been given a viability gap funding of around ₹1,300 crore. Ideas like bus rapid transit (BRT) and monorail are also on the anvil, along with a Sinhagad ropeway for tourism and a skyway for last mile connectivity.
{{/usCountry}}From building a 10-lane, 129-km ring road, which will evolve into an economic corridor in itself, to shaping the metro between Hinjewadi and Shivajinagar through a public-private-partnership model to facilitate decongestion, many steps are being taken for improving the traffic situation. The central government recently approved the ring-road project and has also agreed to finance this project, while the metro has been given a viability gap funding of around ₹1,300 crore. Ideas like bus rapid transit (BRT) and monorail are also on the anvil, along with a Sinhagad ropeway for tourism and a skyway for last mile connectivity.
{{/usCountry}}In view of the traffic solution on one of the busiest and congested routes – the Pune-Mumbai expressway – the proposed hyperloop will be implemented to reduce Pune-Mumbai travel time to just about half an hour and is currently in the feasibility study phase. Affordable housing is also one area which PMRDA has taken up on a war footing, inviting the private sector to help build affordable houses on a public private partnership (PPP) basis. With this, PMRDA intends to create a streamlined supply of affordable houses for the citizens of PMR and help the Prime Minister in the national mission. The state government has recently approved PMRDA’s plan to provide a subsidy of ₹2.5 lakh per house.
Furthermore, PMRDA has also implemented an online building approval system to help smoothen the process of building approvals for the PMR area. This system will utilise state-of-the-art technology and help increase the efficiency of the approval process. To be mapped in real time with the help of the ELU, the system would help identify its user various aspects of the building such as its height and existing infrastructure. While PMRDA is already known as the IT and automobile hub, the roadmap aims to attract greater foreign direct investment (FDI) to this region to ensure manifold growth. Enhancing the happiness index of the people and making the region prosperous is the driving force behind all initiatives of PMRDA.