Two sections of Inner Ring Road to be built by PMRDA on trial basis via credit notes
Two sections of Inner Ring Road to be built by PMRDA on trial basis via credit notes ( Representational Image )
In order to test public-private partnership (PPP) construction of two sections of the proposed Inner Ring Road, the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) has decided to use credit notes to cover development costs. On February 14, the PMRDA released a request for proposals (RFP) to select a project management consultant to supervise the construction of the two sections, which is expected to cost ₹550 crore.
The proposed Inner Ring Road has two sections: one runs through a forested area from Solu to Nirgudi on the Pune-Ahmednagar Road, and the other stretches from Lohegaon to Charholi within the boundaries of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The 4.8 km stretch from Solu to Nirgudi is expected to cost ₹400 crore, while the 5.7 km stretch from Lohegaon to Charholi, which comprises the road, viaduct, bridge, and connecting loop, is estimated to cost ₹150 crore. The two sections will link Charholi inside the Pimpri-Chinchwad boundaries to Wagholi on the Pune-Ahmednagar Road. Wadgaon Shinde, Lohegaon villages, and the PMRDA Ring Road will all be easier to reach thanks to the Inner Ring Road.
According to a senior PMRDA official, the Inner Ring Road will be completed in three stages: acquiring land; creating a detailed project report (DPR) and hiring a project management consultant; and creating and releasing tenders for the Ring Road’s actual construction. Currently, they are holding a tender to select a project management consultant who will oversee the entire undertaking, from drafting the DPR to issuing contracts for the actual building of the road. The Ring Road will undergo actual construction following the Lok Sabha (LS) elections. The Inner Ring Road’s DPR is practically finished. The procedure to acquire land has already begun. For the Inner Ring Road, we have ₹50 crore to acquire land, and we have suggested allocating ₹100 crore in the next budget.
The Inner Ring Road will link Urse, Aakurdi, Chakan, Solu, Wagholi, Kadamwak Wasti, Holkarwadi, Dhayari, Bavdhan Budruk, and Sangavade, according to the official route map. Between Urse and Solu villages, the project will share a 38.5 km alignment with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation’s (MSRDC) Ring Road. To aid in the decongestion of inner city roads, the state government has proposed the 83.12 km Inner Ring Road by PMRDA and the Outer Ring Road by MSRDC.
The Inner Ring Road, which will connect 44 villages in the Pune district’s Khed, Haveli, Mulshi, and Maval talukas, will require the acquisition of about 720 hectares of land. The estimated total cost of the Inner Ring Road project, including land acquisition, is ₹1,400 crore. The PMRDA officials state that land acquisition in the villages of Wadgaon Shinde, Nirgudi, and Solu has commenced. In contrast, it is anticipated that the proposed Inner Ring Road will shorten the current 16.5 km to 27 km distance between Charholi and Wagholi to just 5.7 km.
