Building Pune: PMRDA charts roadmap to make Pune a sustainable growth hub

The plan, which is expected to be ready in the next three months, will start with a baseline assessment of GDP, jobs, investment and productivity in the Pune metropolitan area, which includes the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), and surrounding areas. It will also include the demography of the area, with details of population, income segments and gender participation.

Information on healthcare infrastructure, education, connectivity, urban mobility, transit-oriented development (ToD) opportunities, as well as industry-wise employment targets and skilled manpower in the area, will also be included. The overall growth environment will also be studied in detail, including air quality, renewable energy, and water and wastewater management.

The benchmarks for the Pune metropolitan region will be set against global city regions and identify key stakeholders and strategic endowments like education, IT and tourism.

Mhase said the plan will identify growth drivers like global capacity centres, tourism, manufacturing, green energy, etc., while estimating the market size of each. “The Pune metropolitan economic plan will align with Viksit Bharat, Viksit Maharashtra and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Economic Master Plan. A SWOT analysis will be done and a study of socio-economic parameters will be carried out,” he added.

For effective implementation of the economic plan, Mhase said priority interventions will be identified as per growth theme, along with the development of the Aerocity and Industrial clusters, with radial roads, waste-to-energy initiatives for sustainability, etc.

“A roadmap will be created for phased milestones and success metrics, defining governance structure and roles and identifying support needed from the state and Union governments,” Mhase added.

The education, information technology, automobile, healthcare, and tourism sectors are already dominant in Pune, providing employment for both skilled and unskilled workers. This growth has led to rapid urbanisation in the Pune metropolitan region, placing stress on existing natural resources. While the government has started working on resolving connectivity issues through Metro rail services and Ring Road projects, it continues to struggle with rising water demand and waste management challenges in the region.