BUILDING PUNE: Land survey for extension of Pune metro corridor begins

PCMC to Bhakti-Shakti to have an elevated route, while Swargate to Katraj section will be an underground one

The underground extension from Swargate to Katraj is yet to get the approval of the government, the official said, adding that the Pune metro is completing the survey work so that the actual land acquisition or construction can start immediately after receiving the permission. (File)

With work on two Metro rail corridors in the city almost complete and set to be fully operational soon, Pune Metro has begun the land acquisition process for the proposed extension of the north-south corridor from PCMC to Bhakti-Shakti and Swargate to Katraj.

Pune Metro has begun surveying both government and private land from PCMC to Bhakti-Shakti. The 4.5-km elevated corridor from PCMC to Nigdi with four stations — Chinchwad, Akurdi, Nigdi and Bhakti-Shakti — has been approved by the Centre and would be constructed at a cost of Rs 910.18 crore over a period of 39 months.

“The work includes survey of 17 lands in seven locations and collection of relevant revenue records, including ownership details and city survey map, village maps, land plan from authorities concerned, property cards for locations identified for acquisition of land,” a Pune Metro official said.

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Pune Metro is also undertaking topographical survey for the proposed 5.5-km extension from Swargate to Katraj, which will be underground, a continuation of the existing Shivajinagar to Swargate route. There will be three stations on the extended route: Market Yard Gultekdi junction, Saibaba Nagar and Katraj.

“Survey of 65.5 hectares of land alongside the proposed alignment is underway. The survey also includes marking 800 trees by painting numbers on them,” the official added.

Though the underground extension from Swargate to Katraj is yet to be approved by the Centre, the official said Pune Metro is completing survey work so that actual land acquisition or construction can start immediately after approval comes.

Of the 33-km Phase I of Pune Metro, which includes the north-south and east-west corridors, operations have already begun on 24 km while operations on the Ruby Hall-Ramtekdi stretch will start soon. The Civil Court to Swargate stretch is undergoing trial runs on the underground route.

Ajay Jadhav

Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast. Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste. Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter. Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read More

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