Pimple Saudagar residents suffer as alternative road remains on paper

PUNE: The alternative road between Kate Wasti and Jagtap Dairy is not expected to be built any time soon as the Defence Estates Office (DEO) is yet to give its go-ahead to the plan.




The proposal for the alternative road gained momentum after the Kate Wasti to Rakshak Chowk road was closed down following a Bombay High Court order in 2015. It has been over three years since then, but precious little has happened on the stretch, putting Pimple Saudagar residents, mostly IT professionals, in a spot.

The residents are currently forced to drive their four-wheelers for 4km extra (up and down), ending up paying Rs 8,000 extra per year. The two-wheeler riders end up paying about Rs 2,000-3,000 per year in fuel cost for the same distance.

The road has been on the development plan (DP) for years now. The residents have repeatedly raised the issue in various forums, but all in vain. The latest round of joint demarcation was last done on June 5, 2018, but awaits nod from the DEO and the Army authorities, who will have to cede land at a cost to be paid by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

Presently, the DEO is examining the map and will give suggestions and objections, if any. What remains unclear and what no-one is able to answer satisfactorily is that what is the purpose of a “joint survey with all stakeholders present” if it has to run so many iterations.

At the Smart City presentation by civic chief Shravan Hardikar recently, he had told the residents that the matter was with the defence office and being examined at the ‘central level’ by the officials. The residents have taken up the matter with former defence minister Manohar Parrikar and incumbent, Nirmala Sitharaman.

The city survey office was sitting on the map for over three months before it was passed onto PCMC, which subsequently sent it to the DEO. An official at the DEO told TOI, “The map came to us only in the first week of December. We will compare it with the old maps and see if the demarcation still holds. We will then send it to the Army who will decide if they want to cede the required land and the cost at which they will cede it.”