Pune Municipal Corporation has begun the process of compulsorily acquiring 3,040 square metres of land to widen Koregaon Park’s North Main Road from 18 metres to 30 metres, after negotiations with landowners stalled over pending compensation from an earlier road-widening project.
The 1,650-metre stretch between Westin Hotel Chowk and Tadigutta Chowk is among 32 major roads prioritised by the civic body to address traffic congestion in Pune. The road passes through a dense commercial and residential area with cafes, pubs, boutiques and residential properties, as well as the Osho International Meditation Resort.
Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said a tender had been initiated through the Road Department and that the contractor had received a work order. Widening work is currently under way on the left side of the road, he said.
According to the commissioner, the widening is proposed under the city’s approved Development Plan, which provides legal clearance for the mapped road alignment. However, possession of part of the required land has been delayed because local landowners have refused to hand it over through a negotiated settlement.
The affected landowners have told the civic administration that they have not received compensation for land taken during road-widening work carried out between 2003 and 2005. The dispute has become a central obstacle to securing the remaining road site, according to the municipal commissioner.
The land required for the current acquisition is estimated to cost Rs 21.4 crore. Ram said a provision for the acquisition had been included in the PMC’s approved budget for 2026-27, and that approval had been sought from the standing committee to begin the compulsory acquisition process.
The stretch between Hotel Carnival and Tadigutta Chowk is about 160 metres long and currently varies between 11 metres and 14 metres in width, according to details cited by the civic administration. The proposed widening is intended to create a continuous 30-metre road alignment across the planned section.
Former corporator and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Rajendra Wagaskar supported the acquisition proposal, saying North Main Road had become a major source of traffic disruption and that residents were among those most affected. He said some of the people opposing the land takeover were owners of properties that had shifted from residential to commercial use but no longer lived in the area.
Umesh Gaikwad, the sitting BJP corporator from Koregaon Park, also backed the widening plan but said the affected owners should receive proper compensation. He said around 15 landowners would be required to surrender land and added that local corporators could hold discussions with the civic administration if necessary.
The next formal step is consideration by the PMC standing committee. The acquisition process and the release of compensation will determine when the civic body can obtain possession of the remaining land and complete the planned widening work.
