River transport plan: Planning panel members may discuss proposal in Dec

The project will then be started with a tripatriate Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between SPV,the Irrigation Department (Government of Maharashtra) and the Pune Municipal Corporation.

According officials at Naik Environment Research Institute (NERIL),technical consultants for the project,the technical proposal has already been obtained from the Irrigation Department,while the administrative proposal details are yet to be finalised.

DD Naik,chairman and managing director,NERIL said,“The main vision behind the project is to restore the purity of the three rivers of Pune so that the rich bio-diversity of the 1960s can be revived.”

It will also help in finding an alternative to the traffic congestion of the city. As per the present plans in the first year of the project the system will have 150 boats with a carrying capacity of 60 two-wheelers and 160 persons,he said.

He added that the present high flood-line of the city will be lowered by about five feet and thus more land area will be available.

Thus,unlike other infrastructure projects,it will not lead to slum displacements.

Mukesh Malhotra,former president,MCCIA,pointed out that as all the major hospitals of the city are located in close proximity to the river banks,river-based ambulance services could also be started as part of the project.