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Monday Musings: Do not delay Pune’s HCMTR any further
Pune has been crying for mass transport for a number of decades now. Therefore, this city must bat wholeheartedly for an HCMTR dedicated to mass transport. This, along with the metro network and a good city bus service would do well for Pune
Over the last one week, we have been carrying various informed viewpoints on a very important infrastructure project for our city.
This is the 35km long inner ring road, formally known as the High Capacity Mass Transit Route (HCMTR).
As is well known by now, this elevated ring road was planned with a 24km width and lanes for the BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) and private vehicles. Two international consortiums, with India-China partnerships had bid for this project, estimated by the Pune Municipal Corporation ( PMC) to cost Rs 6,000 crore.
However, both the bids were rejected as they were at least 40% higher than the reserve price.
When the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Devendra Fadnavis government lost power in a dramatic manner in Maharashtra, and the Shiv Sena-NCP-Cong government secured the seat, the HCMTR project also witnessed a big jolt. Perhaps, all for the good.
Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar advised top civic officials to reduce the width of the HCMTR by one-third and reserve it exclusively for public transport.
There is a mixed opinion on this, but there is certainly merit in the stand taken by Pawar. Pune has been crying for mass transport for a number of decades now. This is a city with the highest concentration of two-wheelers in the country and the number of private vehicles is continuing to rise alarmingly.
Consequently, our city has been suffering from the associated problems of pollution, acute congestion and ever-increasing commuting time on a routine basis, which gets worse, especially in the monsoons.
Therefore, Pune must bat wholeheartedly for an HCMTR dedicated to mass transport. This, along with the metro network and a good city bus service would do well for Pune.
The HCMTR was planned in 1987 and since then, has never seen the light of day because it remained on paper. The route and the alignment of the HCMTR will have to be changed because the city has expanded enormously.
Work on the HCMTR should now get going within the next six months. Ajit Pawar is a man of action. He can do it, most certainly.
abhay.vaidya@hindustantimes.com
