The stalled Katraj-Kondhwa road widening project, which was pending for the past eight years, is finally all set to start as the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has approved a fund of ₹270 crore for land acquisition, which is required to expand the road to 50 meters.
Out of the total amount, ₹220 crore has been arranged through the reclassification of funds from various departments. This proposal received the Standing Committee’s approval during its meeting on Friday (Sept 12).
The foundation stone for the project was laid in 2017, but work remained sluggish as land possession had not been secured. As a result, less than half the work has been completed in eight years. Poor management and delays led to frequent accidents on that stretch, which also claimed several lives.
Initially, PMC had offered Transferable Development Rights (TDR) and Floor Space Index (FSI) as options for land acquisition. However, citizens rejected the proposal, forcing the civic body to switch to cash compensation. With this delay, land costs increased, which led to the rise in overall expenses for the project.
Last year, the state government provided ₹139 crore, which facilitated partial land acquisition. Now, Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram has formed a committee with the District Collector to complete the acquisition of the remaining plots.
For widening the 84-meter road, a total of ₹270 crore is required. Currently, ₹55 crore is available in the land acquisition account. To meet the shortfall, ₹160 crore has been allocated from the road department, while the project department, city engineer and building department will contribute ₹20 crore each.
“The proposal has been approved, and we are hopeful that the project will finally gain the momentum needed to complete the widening work,” said Road Department Head Aniruddha Pawaskar.
