After more than four years, Shivajinagar bus depot plan remains on paper
According to the Maha-Metro and MSRTC agreement, Pune Metro was given one acre for an underground Shivajinagar metro station at the four-acre land owned by MSRTC
Even as the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro) has nearly completed the Pune Metro Line-1 and Line-2 projects after razing the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus depot at Shivajinagar, the public transport utilities are yet to develop a bus facility under the public private partnership (PPP) model.
According to the Maha-Metro and MSRTC agreement, Pune Metro was given one acre for an underground Shivajinagar metro station at the four-acre land owned by MSRTC. The Shivajinagar bus depot was shifted to Dairy Development Department’s Wakdewadi location 1.5 kilometre away after metro work began in December 2019.
With four years gone and the plan still on paper, the authorities face heat after former member of legislative council (MLC) Mohan Joshi warned MSRTC of protest if the bus depot is not restored to its original area at Shivajinagar. The politician said that Wakdewadi location is causing hardship to passengers as it is waterlogged during rainy season.
The Wakdewadi bus depot along the Pune-Mumbai highway has increased traffic on the busy road. Commuters tolerated the inconvenience, believing the relocation was temporary.
Dhananjay Mahajan, general manager (architecture), MSRTC, said, “It was decided at a meeting last week that Maha-Metro will develop the Shivajinagar bus depot. Officials are preparing a detailed project report (DPR) and will soon float a tender. The project includes a bus station, depot, parking, and staff quarters. We had earlier planned to develop it on build operate and transfer (BoT) basis, but it was not feasible due to low market rates. Now, the market is improving and Maha-Metro has found it financially viable.”
According to the official, MSRTC released 4,500 square metres of land to Maha-Metro, leaving it with 11,000 square metres to accommodate bus station, depot, and parking. Maha-Metro and MSRTC will need to invest ₹500 crore to complete the project with fund support from the state government. Profits will be divided on cost-sharing.
Atul Gadgil, director (works), Maha-Metro, said, “We are considering to develop the depot on PPP model.”
