Two Pune Metro extensions stall as PMC and Maha-Metro differ over flyover costs

Work on two of the four proposed extensions of Pune Metro is not moving ahead. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Maha-Metro have not agreed on who will build the infrastructure on the adjoining road and how the cost will be shared between them. Because of this, the tender date for the Nal Stop-Manik Baug and Kharadi-Khadakwasla corridors has been pushed back once again. The last date for submitting tenders is now December 30.

This is the eighth extension since the tender process began last December. The Vanaz-Chandni Chowk and Ramwadi-Wagholi routes, meanwhile, are moving towards implementation, but the other two corridors are held up by unresolved infrastructure and design issues.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for all four extensions on Tuesday. Even so, the differences between the civic body and the metro agency have raised concern about the pace of work on these two stretches.

On the Nal Stop-Manik Baug route, civic officials say two flyovers are needed, near Ambedkar Chowk and the Karve statue. PMC and Maha-Metro have held several rounds of discussion on their design, and changes were made after suggestions from political representatives. After the design was changed, Maha-Metro gave the corporation its cost estimate for building these structures. PMC has questioned the cost, saying the estimate is about 50 per cent higher than its own calculation. The two agencies have been unable to agree on the next step because of this difference in cost.

The problem on the Kharadi-Khadakwasla extension is of a different kind. The issue here is coordination with the proposed High Capacity Mass Transit Route (HCMTR). PMC had initially suggested a flyover at the Dandekar Bridge junction. Maha-Metro then began the tender for the metro corridor. But fitting a flyover, the metro line and the HCMTR into a single stretch brought design and engineering difficulties.

In the end, the Dandekar Bridge flyover proposal was dropped. Officials indicated that the ramps near Pu La Deshpande Garden and the Nilayam-Party Plaza junction can handle traffic without an additional flyover.

Another option is under consideration. A double-decker structure could be built in select stretches, including the section from Pu La Deshpande Garden to Laxminarayan Chowk. Under this plan, the metro would run on the upper level and regular road traffic would pass below. A single-column design at the appropriate places is also being considered to accommodate both.

Until the two agencies decide on the sharing of costs and the arrangement of infrastructure, these two extensions could fall behind the other proposed corridors in the implementation schedule.