Mohol Accuses Ajit Pawar of Stalling Pune Metro, Says Project Gained Pace Only After 2014
Mohol Accuses Ajit Pawar of Stalling Pune Metro, Says Project Gained Pace Only After 2014
Pune, January 8, 2025: Union Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol on Thursday accused Ajit Pawar and the previous Congress–NCP governments of delaying the Pune Metro project for over a decade, claiming that “not an inch” of actual progress took place between 2001 and 2014.
Speaking after travelling on the Pune Metro and interacting with commuters, Mohol alleged that while discussions around introducing a metro system in Pune began in 2001, the proposal remained stuck during the tenure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and then Guardian Minister of Pune Ajit Pawar. He termed Pawar’s recent claims on the metro as “blatantly false,” and questioned whether Pawar lacked confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis.
Mohol cited former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s policies as the starting point for modern metro expansion in India, noting that even the Delhi Metro’s foundation and inauguration were completed during Vajpayee’s tenure. Inspired by this, metro proposals for Pune and Bengaluru were drafted, but, according to Mohol, the Congress–NCP-led state and municipal administrations failed to act.
The Pune Metro DPR was submitted by E. Sreedharan in 2009, but disagreements between Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic bodies delayed approvals, pushing project costs from ₹8,000 crore to over ₹10,000 crore. Mohol also blamed Ajit Pawar’s 2012 promise of a fully underground metro—later altered due to higher costs—for further delays. By the time the Centre granted in-principle approval in 2014, Mohol said the state government did not comply with suggested corrections, causing further stalling.
He contrasted Pune’s delays with cities like Bengaluru, Gurugram, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad, where metro services began operating as Pune’s project remained on paper.
Mohol credited the BJP governments post-2014 for speeding up the metro, listing key decisions including route approvals, central clearances in 2016, foundation stone laying by PM Modi the same year, and the inauguration of Phase I in March 2022. He added that the Hinjewadi–Shivajinagar line, approved in 2018, is now close to completion after regaining momentum under the Mahayuti government.
Currently, around two lakh commuters use Pune Metro’s 31-km network daily, Mohol said, asserting that citizens “clearly know” the project took shape under the Modi–Fadnavis leadership. Instead of claiming credit, Mohol said Ajit Pawar should present concrete contributions by the Congress or NCP, adding that “baseless statements” reflect a lack of achievements ahead of elections.
