Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)'s ambitious project to improve road conditions through concreting major city roads has faced significant delays, leaving citizens grappling with traffic congestion and dust pollution.

Incomplete Key Roads in South Pune

Two critical roads in South Pune – Treasure Park to Mitramandal Chowk and Trimurti Chowk to Rajmata Ahilyadevi Holkar Bridge – remain incomplete, despite nearly a year having passed since the project began in February 2024.

These routes are crucial for streamlining traffic flow in the region and connecting to the Katraj-Dehu Road bypass.

While one side of the road from Trimurti Chowk to the Holkar Bridge is complete, police permissions and ongoing flyover work at Katraj Junction have delayed further progress.

For Treasure Park to Mitramandal Chowk, around 50% of the work is done, but festivals like Ganeshotsav and Diwali disrupted the project.

Contractors Penalized for Delays

PMC imposed fines on contractors for slow progress, including ₹1 lakh for the Treasure Park road contractor and ₹30,000 for the Trimurti Chowk project contractor. However, these penalties have not significantly expedited work.

Citizen and Police Interventions

The work faced additional hurdles due to local citizens' demands to halt construction during peak festival times and police permissions required for traffic management at busy junctions. Moreover, relocating underground utility lines has further slowed progress.

“The concreting of both roads has been slowed down due to challenges such as citizen objections, police permissions, and utility relocation. The March 31 deadline still holds, and we are taking steps to ensure the work accelerates in the coming months,” said Aniruddha Pawaskar, Head of PMC’s Road Department.