Approval delays stall six town planning schemes in Pune metro region
Five of these schemes are planned along the proposed ring road, while the sixth pertains to Maan-Mhalunge, which was highlighted as a model project during the 2019 assembly elections.
A senior official from PMRDA explained that the proposal for Maan-Mhalunge had been recently revised and submitted, while the other five were submitted over nine months ago. The government, however, has not yet granted final approval for any of them. With the assembly elections expected to be announced soon, the implementation of these projects is unlikely before the year's end.
Recently, in-principle approval was granted to 15 more town planning schemes in the approved PMRDA budget. The six schemes—Maan-Mhalunge, Vadachiwadi, Autunde Handewadi, Manjari Kolwadi, and two in Holkarwadi—are being planned based on the Gujarat model, where landowners receive 50% of the developed land. The Central government has also allocated infrastructure funds for these schemes. Officials have indicated that the delay in approving the proposals is hindering the development of the respective areas.
Maan-Mhalunge was the first town planning scheme proposed by the state government. The draft development plan for the remaining five schemes in the Pune Metropolitan Region was approved earlier in January, which advanced the projects along the proposed 82-km ring road and set the stage for development across nearly 5,000 hectare.
The project at Vadachiwadi is expected to cover 134.79 hectare, while the one at Autande Handewadi will span 94.44 hectare. Of the two schemes in Holkarwadi, one will cover 158.19 hectare and the other 130.78 hectare, and the Manjari Kolwadi project will encompass 233.35 hectare.