The Pune Municipal Corporation’s Road Department has imposed a penalty of ₹6.43 crore on a builder for allegedly excavating about 1,700 metres of road without permission in Susgaon, bringing renewed attention to the city’s enforcement of rules governing construction-related road cuts.
The action relates to excavation carried out during construction on Survey Nos. 127/1 and 2 Part/J/3 and 127/1 Part A/2 in Susgaon. According to the report, the excavation was undertaken without authorisation for laying service lines. The PMC Road Department initiated verification after a complaint from Rishikesh Kanawate, an organiser of the Rayat Swabhimani Sanghatana.
The department found substance in the complaint and imposed the penalty under the municipal fee structure. Private companies and builders seeking to excavate roads for service lines are charged ₹12,192 per running foot, and permission is granted only after the applicable amount is paid. The report said the builder was charged three times the prescribed fee because the road work was carried out without permission.
PMC Road Department superintendent engineer Ajibhij Ambekar confirmed the action, according to the report. The penalty is substantially higher than an earlier fine of ₹95 lakh imposed on the same builder for unauthorised excavation in the Susgaon area. That amount has not yet been paid to the municipal corporation, the report said.
The demand for immediate recovery of both penalties has been raised by the Rayat Swabhimani Sanghatana. The reported enforcement highlights the financial and administrative consequences of road cutting, which can affect the condition of carriageways and impose additional repair obligations on the civic body when restoration is incomplete or defective.
A separate road restoration dispute has also been reported in Baner. In that case, a builder applied through a Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company-related scheme to lay an electricity line, received a 50% concession on the excavation fee and deposited 50% of the required security amount. The approved work covered about 2,800 metres, of which approximately 1,800 metres was completed within the permitted period.
However, the repaired stretch subsequently developed potholes after what the report described as poor-quality restoration. The road falls on the route of the Pune Grand Tour competition, and the PMC is expected to undertake asphalting work there. The civic body has therefore refused to return the security deposit, citing the likely cost of repairs. The report also said efforts were under way to secure the release of the deposit for the remaining work through political pressure.
The PMC’s next step in the Susgaon case is recovery of the ₹6.43 crore penalty, while the earlier ₹95 lakh fine remains unpaid, according to the report.
