Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar orders faster pace on Pune Metro, ring road, river pollution projects

Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Ajit Pawar recently chaired a high-level meeting at Sahyadri State Guest House to review development projects under the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA). PMRDA covers a total of 674 villages across an area of about 5,215 square kilometres. Citing the scale and pace of population growth and urbanisation, the Deputy Chief Minister told the administration to implement the master plan keeping future years' needs in mind.

Pawar said the Pune Metropolitan Region is expanding rapidly, with rising population, industrialisation, urbanisation and growing tourism potential, and that infrastructure planning should account for the coming years.

Laying particular emphasis on strengthening the traffic system, the Deputy Chief Minister directed officials to speed up work on the Pune Inner Ring Road, projects proposed under the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP), the Hinganagaon bridge and the Yavat railway bridge. She said strong connectivity linking different areas of Pune city and the PMRDA region would be needed to improve the traffic system, and asked that planning also cover multimodal hubs, industrial connectivity, connectivity to religious sites, tourism connectivity and airport links together.

Given worsening traffic congestion in Pune's Maan-Hinjewadi area, the Deputy Chief Minister directed officials to take the steps needed to complete the Maan-Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Pune Metro Line 3 as soon as possible. The meeting was told the metro line has 23 stations in total, of which 12 have been completed and 5 more are in the final stage of construction. Officials were asked to work in coordination to speed up the remaining work and bring the project into public service at the earliest.

Projects to check river pollution were also given top priority. Officials were asked to immediately advance projects to curb pollution in the Indrayani, Pavna, Mula and Mutha rivers flowing through the Pune Metropolitan Region. The Deputy Chief Minister said it was not enough to merely set up the projects; the institutions and systems involved needed to be made self-reliant and financially sustainable so that maintenance and operating costs could be met going forward.

The meeting also discussed strengthening fire safety systems in view of rising population and urbanisation in the PMRDA area. Work on a fire station at Kasarambholi is under way, while 12 more fire stations are proposed. The Deputy Chief Minister directed that work on all these stations be sped up so that fire services reach people in the PMRDA area without delay.

Long-term planning for drinking water was also emphasised. Citing the rapidly growing population and future urban expansion in the PMRDA area, the Deputy Chief Minister said the drinking water problem needed to be addressed through long-term planning starting now, and directed officials to develop new water sources. She said planning needed to bring together existing water sources, the distribution system and future requirements to supply water to new housing colonies, industrial areas, tourist spots and the growing population.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Ajit Pawar said development of the Pune Metropolitan Region should not be limited to roads and buildings alone, but must take full account of traffic, water, environment, fire safety, industry, tourism and all aspects connected to people's lives.