In the much-awaited first development plan (DP) for the third largest metropolitan region of the country, the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) in its draft development plan proposed 26 town planning schemes, 59 public housing projects along with network of 10 metro rail routes, high-speed railway and crescent railway and two ring roads. “The metropolitan region is spread over 6,914.26 square km and the draft DP has been prepared considering future needs of the area. The development of projects proposed in the DP would cost Rs 75,000 crore and it would be done in phases,” said Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday. He added that the PMRDA is the third largest metropolitan region in the country after Bengaluru and Hyderabad and the largest in the state. The Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC), chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on Thursday approved the publication of draft DP of the PMRDA, which would be open for suggestions and objections from people. The presentation of the draft DP was given by Metropolitan Commissioner Suhas Diwase in the MPC in Mumbai. As per the draft DP, the metropolitan region will also have 30 fire stations, eight biodiversity parks and 16 public parks along with few satellite townships to implement the concept of walk to work. Also, there will be 13 multi-modal hubs, seven treatment centres for accident victims, four regional centres, 15 civic facilitation centres and 12 logistic centres. The PMRDA has proposed five tourist destinations, five mega educational centres, two medical research centres, agriculture processing research and development centre, a sports university, eight rural strengthening centres, two industrial research and training centres and four agriculture produce marketing committees to encourage economic activities. As per the 2011 census, the population of the PMRDA is 17.11 lakh, and it is estimated to grow up to 53.7 lakh by 2041. “The sustainable development goals of the United Nations have been considered while preparing the draft DP. Environment protection and conservation have been given priority. It has been planned to be the most liveable habitat in the country with focus on making it convenient, prudent, resilient, efficient and self-sufficient,” said Diwase. - Stay updated with the latest Pune news. Follow Express Pune on Twitter here and on Facebook here. You can also join our Express Pune Telegram channel here.
