Pune district collector Jitendra Dudi has warned that engineers could face criminal cases if accidents occur because potholes are not repaired in the Hinjawadi and Chakan industrial areas, where traffic congestion and weak road infrastructure are already under review.
The warning was issued during a high-level task force meeting chaired by Dudi to assess traffic congestion, potholes, rainfall-related problems, drainage, encroachments over drains, road widening, junction and U-turn planning, and public transport in the two industrial areas, Loksatta reported.
The meeting was attended by resident deputy collector Jyoti Kadam, deputy commissioner of police Vikrant Deshmukh, and officials from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, municipal authorities, police, highways and other concerned departments. The review brought multiple agencies together because road maintenance, traffic management and drainage responsibilities are divided across different authorities in the Hinjawadi and Chakan corridors.
Dudi directed the concerned departments to remove encroachments, complete the necessary surveys and keep work plans and administrative processes ready. The instructions cover both immediate road-safety action and longer-term planning for areas experiencing industrial traffic and continuing urban expansion.
In Chakan, the district collector instructed authorities to remove temporary encroachments without delay. He also ordered action against unauthorised construction according to applicable rules and called for drains to be cleared. Where construction has taken place with permission, officials were asked to plan the land and arrangements required to divert the drain through an alternative route.
The drainage instructions are significant for roads that face rainfall-related disruption. The task force review linked potholes and road conditions with wider stormwater and land-use problems, including encroachments that can restrict the movement of water through drains. The authorities were asked to identify such encroachments rather than treating road repairs as an isolated maintenance issue.
The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority were instructed to survey drains within their respective jurisdictions and compile information on encroachments. The direction places responsibility on the agencies to establish the condition of drainage infrastructure and the obstacles affecting it.
Traffic planning was also included in the review. Officials were told to study traffic volumes, vehicle movement directions and likely future growth before finalising road designs. The collector also called for planning on junctions, U-turns, road widening and public transport in the Hinjawadi and Chakan areas.
The warning against engineers comes as the administration examines whether delays in filling potholes and completing related works are contributing to accidents. The report did not specify the number of accidents, the roads where cases could be registered or a deadline for completing every repair and survey. The next steps identified by the administration are the removal of encroachments, completion of surveys and preparation of implementation-ready work plans.