A long-pending plan to develop some bus stands for state transport buses located on the periphery of the city is likely to gain momentum as the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) begins acquiring land in Baner. The project aims to prevent unnecessary entry of state buses from this area and help decongest city roads.
In a proposal submitted to the civic standing committee, Municipal Commissioner Rajendra Bhosle has sought permission to acquire plots reserved for bus stands for Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses, the state’s public transport, city-based public bus transport in Baner. (PMPML) and for bus parking.
The PMC, to address the growing traffic chaos, has planned to decongest city roads by developing bus stands for state buses on the outskirts of the city to prevent their unnecessary entry into the city.The bus stands are located at Pune Railway Station, Swargate. and Shivajinagar.
Accordingly, the civic body has reserved a bus stand at Baner for state-owned state and local buses to ensure last-mile connectivity.
“Reserved Baner land is located next to the Mumbai-Bangalore bypass so the state transport bus stand will ensure that state buses plying between Mumbai to Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Bangalore do not enter the city. This will help decongest city roads. City transport for last mile connectivity to passengers from Baner The bus stand will also cater to PMPML buses to allow use.Furthermore, a metro station is being developed on the Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar route which will also help commuters. ” said the civic official.
Currently, state buses use the road to reach bus stands in the city, he said, which leads to traffic chaos that makes commuting difficult, as it takes an hour to cover the distance.
PMC had acquired some land in the past and was using it as a PMPML bus depot, while the rest of the land has been reserved for bus stand development. However, the owners of the land reserved by the PMC have issued a purchase notice to the civic body demanding that the PMC acquire the land or remove the reservation tag. Due to the reservation tag, the owners are at a loss as they cannot use their land for their own projects.
Of the total 7,115-sqm plot reserved for PMPML by the civic administration, a plot measuring 30,094 sqmt has been reserved for MSRTC state buses, and 552 sqm area for a 30-metre wide road. However, only a part of the land has been acquired for the facility.
Besides, 467.52 sq m plot estimated at Rs 1.64 crore is yet to be acquired for PMPML bus stand, 14529.83 sq m plot for MSRTC bus stand at Rs 66.72 crore and 552.5 sq m for road development. 2.53 crore is estimated. “The estimated cost will be different during the actual procurement,” said the Municipal Commissioner, adding that the process for this should be initiated now.
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