31 December,2010 08:07 AM IST | | Vivek Sabnis
Focus next year will be on realising metro rail project, starting work on 12 new townships and completing ring road project Eagerly awaited: Metro rail proposal is waiting for the final nod from the government. Representation pic
The metro rail and several townships expected to come up around the city are the big projects for next year. No formal decision has been made or finalised by the civic body, as they are yet to fulfill basic norms set by the Urban Development Department of the state government.
Metro rail
The much debated and awaited metro railway project has received some push, as the PMC general body approved a 14.92-km corridor starting from Vanaz Company on Paud Road to Ramwadi on the Nagar highway. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has recommended this model to the city.
The metro rail proposal is waiting for the final nod from the government. Land acquisition and making the metro feasible is still being debated by the NCP-Congress and the opposition BJP-Sena.
Ring road
As the vehicle population in the city has already gone up to 25 lakh and additional vehicles come from outside every day, the PMC has suggested a ring road around the city to prevent heavy vehicles from entering the main city.
The first phase from Dehuroad towards Katraj has been completed and the second is also in the process. Ajit Pawar, the guardian minister of Pune and deputy chief minister of the state, said that the establishment of the PMRDA would solve all the problems in and around the city. The PMC would also get additional power to tackle issues related to new developments around the city.
New townships
The city has given a formal nod to six new townships, while six more are waiting for approval. The townships will make help the city develop in a systematic manner. This will give the city a totally new look in the next decade. By the end of 2020, the city will have a total of 16 townships which will be treated like self-contained small cities.
Hinjewadi, Jambhe Village, Sinhagad road, and Maval are the hot spots for the new townships. The first six townships have already got the environmental and location clearance from the government. The remaining six are being scrutinised by the Collector's Office.
In the pipeline
> A total of 12 special township projects will get clearance from the government.
> To link these townships, a road-linking network will be initiated by the PMC and the district government bodies.
> A bigger ring road will link Lonavla to Satara.
> The city will get a total of 2,200 PMPML buses next year
> Almost 101km will be covered by BRT routes
> The PMC fire brigade may get big snorkels for fire-fighting in skyscrappers above 45m.
> The New Development Plan and the Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority will be approved in 2011.
