Leader of Opposition opposes narrowing of 84 roads in draft plan for Pune's nine new villages

The proposed development plan (DP) prepared for the nine new villages included in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has 143 proposals in all. Of these, the plan recommends reducing the width of 84 roads. Leader of Opposition in the civic body Nilesh Nikam has demanded that the state government stop the move.

Nikam has written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. In the letter, he said traffic congestion could increase in the coming period, so road widths in the new villages should not be reduced. He also demanded that separate plots be reserved for solid waste management projects and for PMPML bus depots.

The Town Planning Department has published the draft development plan for the nine villages that have come within PMC limits. The plan will soon be sent to the state government for approval.

Nikam said Pune ranks second in the country after Bengaluru for traffic congestion, while the city stands fourth in the country in vehicle sales. According to him, planning norms require 15 per cent of the total area of a development plan to be reserved for roads. In Pune, however, only about 9 per cent of the area is reserved for roads.

"Reducing the width of 84 roads in the new villages will create a serious traffic problem in future. To handle the city's growing traffic, the administration should ensure adequate road widths," Nikam said.

He also raised the issue of waste management. According to Nikam, Pune has dropped out of the Swachh Survekshan rankings. Most of the city's existing waste processing facilities are in Hadapsar, which puts the health of residents there at risk.

Nikam demanded that separate plots be earmarked for waste processing facilities in the development plan, so that such facilities can be distributed more evenly across the city.