PMC To Prioritise HCMTR To Ease Pune Traffic Congestion; Toll-Free Corridor Planned
· Free Press Journal
Pune: In a major push to reduce traffic congestion, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will prioritise the long-pending High Capacity Mass Transit Route (HCMTR), also known as Pune’s inner ring road, before taking up the proposed outer ring road project, Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said.
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The commissioner said the HCMTR will be the first major infrastructure project under the city’s long-term mobility plan. The proposed outer ring road connecting Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and 44 surrounding villages, along with underground road corridors, will be taken up in later phases based on the city’s needs.
The proposed HCMTR is a 36-km elevated corridor with a width of 24 metres. The project has already received the required approvals but has remained pending for several years. Ram said a large part of the alignment passes through existing roads, reducing the need for major land acquisition.
He said nearly 85 per cent of the land required for the project belongs to government departments, while only around 15 per cent is privately owned. This is expected to make the land acquisition process easier.
To speed up the project, PMC will set up a dedicated HCMTR cell to oversee planning and implementation. The civic body will soon prepare proposals to acquire government land and begin discussions with private landowners wherever land acquisition is required.
Pune: Tender Process To Begin For 36-Km HCMTR Project, Says Union Minister Murlidhar MoholAccording to PMC, land acquisition for the project is expected to cost around ₹1,300 crore. Since most of the corridor falls within PMC limits, the civic body plans to use transferable development rights (TDR) and floor space index (FSI) to acquire land. PMC is also appointing an international financial consultant to study different funding options for the project.
Ram said the HCMTR will remain a toll-free corridor. He added that PMC is exploring different financial models to complete the project without charging a toll from commuters.
He also said the HCMTR will be integrated with the proposed outer ring road, the Metro network and future underground road corridors to create a seamless transport system for the city.