PUNE: The MahaMetro has completed 90 per cent of land acquisition required by them for building the Vanaz – Civil Court corridor and Pimpri – Range Hills corridor of metro project. As MahaMetro is all set to start work on the Shivajinagar to Swargate corridor of metro project which is underground, the agency is trying to speed up the land acquisition process so that the project is not stuck. Chief Project Manager Gautam Birhade said that of the 40 hectares to be acquired for the project till now nearly 36 hectares of land has been acquired. Of the 40 hectares, 37 belongs to various government agencies. MahaMetro has sourced the land from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), College of Agriculture, other government bodies, defence and cantonment boards.
“We are waiting for approval of land acquisition from defence authorities which will be required to build Range Hills and Khadki station. The defence authorities have asked for the land of equivalent value as we will acquire from them. We have identified some spots and are in process of discussion for land acquisition from defence authorities. We are positive that land acquisition would not take much time,” added Birhade.
The delay in land acquisition work might affect the construction as work on the 10-km stretch between PCMC and Dapodi is going on in full swing and the next phase for MahaMetro is set to enter the Khadki Cantonment Board (KCB) limits. Areas near Khadki railway station along the Old Mumbai-Pune highway need to be razed so that the road in the area can be widened. After that, MahaMetro can start work. Birhade said that an underpass is also planned near Harris Bridge and so MahaMetro will have to work in coordination with PMC and KCB to get the work done.
Speaking on the progress of work at Vanaaz garbage depot which will become a depot for metro, Birhade said that the work of building the Vanaz metro depot will soon start.
Speaking on the depot work at Range Hills going at a slower pace, Birhade said that they are waiting for funds from the funding agency after which work will gain momentum. “We are in touch with the funding agencies and hope we receive funds soon,” added Birhade.
LAND ACQUISITION
Chief Project Manager Gautam Birhade said that of the 40 hectares to be acquired for the project till now nearly 36 hectares has been acquired. Of the 40 hectares, 37 belongs to various government agencies.
