Pune civic authorities have begun preparations for a drone survey and site film for the proposed 43.60-km High Capacity Mass Transit Circular Route, reviving a project that has remained stalled for decades but could require extensive land acquisition across the city. The completely elevated route is intended to reduce traffic congestion by 25-30 per cent and is estimated to cost Rs 2,634 crore.
The Pune civic body plans to use the drone survey, alignment mapping, on-site inspection, 3D animation and a presentation to document the current status of the project. Municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said a six-minute film in Marathi and English was also proposed. The film would present the project’s alignment, site conditions and implementation status.
Ram said the revised Detailed Project Report, alignment and financial plan needed to be finalised immediately and placed before different levels for approval. He was referring to directions issued at a review meeting chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis. The civic commissioner said the project was being implemented at a fast pace and described it as urgent and high priority.
The civic body received three proposals for preparing the film and related visual material. Bahawa Entertainment LLP submitted the lowest quotation at Rs 12.3 lakh. Ram said the agency could be approved by exercising special powers under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act because of the project’s urgency.
The HCMTR was first proposed in 1987, but land-related difficulties and high construction costs delayed implementation. Earlier attempts to restart it did not succeed because of technical issues. The state government has now urged the Pune civic body to implement the route in response to the city’s traffic conditions.
The proposed project is expected to cost Rs 2,634 crore, with a large share of the expenditure linked to acquiring approximately 4.98 lakh square metres of land. The proposed acquisition extends through Bopodi, Aundh, Bhamburda, Erandwana, Kothrud, Hingne, Parvati, Munjari, Wanawadi, Hadapsar, Mundhwa, Vadgaonsheri, Lohegaon, Yerawada and Dhanori.
The route is planned as a completely elevated corridor, with ramps connecting it to the city’s main roads. That design is intended to allow the circular route to pass through a dense and already developed urban area, but the proposed alignment has also raised concerns among residents and civic groups about its local effects.
The HCMTR-Nagrik Kruti Samiti has called for transparency in the project’s implementation. The group said the alignment could affect residential areas, schools, colleges, hospitals, places of worship and heritage sites. It cited a 2019 study that identified 25 pre-schools, 31 schools and colleges, 19 hospitals, 12 temples and five other listed cultural heritage sites within a 500-metre study buffer.
The citizens’ group also claimed that more than 1,000 families could be displaced and that several housing societies were located close to the proposed alignment. It said the feasibility study estimated the loss of around 3,000 trees and identified possible impacts on forest land, three lakes and three hills. According to the group, significant parts of the project area contain dense vegetation.
The immediate municipal exercise is therefore focused on documenting the alignment and preparing the revised project report and financial plan. The next formal milestones are the completion of these documents and their presentation for approvals at the relevant levels.
