The state government on Monday declared that the missing link on the Mumbai-Pune expressway and the 23km Metro route from Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar will be inaugurated in the coming fiscal while work on the second phase of the Pune Metro project would also be started.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who also holds the finance portfolio, tabled the budget for the 2024-25 financial year in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Monday. He said work on the Pune to Shirur elevated road spaning 564km will be undertaken at an estimated cost of Rs 7,515 crores. Work will also be taken up to build a 25km road from Talegaon to Chakan, including four elevated roads, for which a corpus of Rs.6,499 crores has been set aside.
Pawar said the missing link project in the ghat section from Khopoli to Khandala on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway is expected to be completed by August 2025, adding this will save both travel time and fuel and will also mitigate reduce traffic congestion.
A 23.2km Metro route from Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar in Pune will also be completed in the coming financial year. The Centre has approved the second phase of the Pune Metro which is the extension of the Swargate to Katraj corridor.
“A proposal of Rs 9,897 crores has been sent to the Centre for two Metro lines in phase 2. One is the Khadakwasla-Swargate-Hadapsar-Kharadi corridor and the other is the Nal Stop-Warje-Manikbagh corridor,” said Pawar.
A grand Shivsrushti project using modern technology is being implemented in four phases at Ambegaon in Pune to make future generations aware of the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
While two phases of the project have been completed, the state government will provide an additional Rs 50 crores to expedite the remaining work. Pawar said the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune will also be renovated.