Metro still a non-starter as state dithers on proposal

When Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Javadekar sought to know about the status of the Metro rail project for Pune during the winter session of the Assembly,the Centre said it had not received any proposal from the state government.

“Even as Chennai,Bangalore,Kochi are keenly pursuing the project,the state is lagging behind,” said Javadekar. He is now planning to take up the status of the project with the Chief Minister.

State government authorities from the urban development department did not want to comment on the issue.

According to senior officers of the PMC,the Metro project would be impossible if the Centre decides against funding it. Similar projects have been launched in Chennai,Mumbai,Bangalore,Kolkata,Ahmedabad,Lucknow,Ludhiana,Hyderabad,Kochi and Jaipur.

“We are appalled by the bureaucratic delay,” said a key National Congress Party (NCP) member. This despite Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar saying they want to give top priority to the Pune Metro project.

In June,the general body (GB) of the PMC had approved the proposal to build Metro on the 14.925-km-long corridor from Vanaz (Paud Road) to Ramwadi (Ahmednagar Road).

The GB had also resolved to execute a monorail project on the high-capacity mass transit route in the city. After the GB’s approval,the mayor had announced then that the foundation stone of the project would be laid on December 12,which was also NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s birthday. However,there has been no progress.

The Vanaz-Ramwadi route is the second corridor of the Pune Metro rail project.

The first corridor,which has not yet been taken up by the general bodies of the PMC and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC),has been planned between the PCMC building and Swargate.