Pune: Barely a week after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave approval for the ring road project, thousands of residents staged a demonstration against the project in Pradhikaran on Friday.
The protesters, mostly labourers working in Bhosari MIDC, alleged that their houses are slated for demolition as they come in the path (30 meter-stretch) of the ring road.
They submitted a memorandum pertaining to their rehabilitation to Satish Khadke, CEO of Pimpri-Chinchwad New Town Development Authority.
“Many families have been living in Pradhikaran’s Bijlinagar area for decades. Most of the houses are permanent. When the project was mooted in 2007, we weren’t told anything about it. It is only a fortnight back as surveyors began marking our houses that we came to know our houses are in the proposed route and are scheduled for demolition,” said Gopal Birari of Ghar Bachav Sangharsh Samiti.
Mr. Birari said the affected families have suggested possible rehabilitation along the ‘spine road’, which runs parallel to the path of the proposed project. “Mr. Khadke has assured us that he will take up the matter in the Mantralaya and that no demolition will begin before the end of the monsoon.”
The eight-lane and 129-km road, which was mooted during the Congress government headed by Vilasrao Deshmukh in 2007, is likely to tackle the traffic woes. The project is being developed as an economic corridor by integrating tourism, industrial and agri-based activities, thus enhancing the development of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad townships.
The current project is estimated at a whopping ₹17,412 crore. The detailed project report (DPR) is expected to be ready by September. The civil work will begin in October-November and be completed in three years, according to Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority.
The project will require 1,430 hectares of land in 58 villages in four talukas of Haveli, Maval, Mulshi and Khed. The plan envisages the ring road without any traffic signals, with provisions for rest rooms and hospitals at various points.
