PMC acquires crucial land at Katraj Chowk, clears 28-year traffic hurdle for ₹21.57cr
To facilitate the construction of the Katraj flyover, PMC will now use the land parcel for road construction as the plot is located right at the beginning of the flyover
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has finally acquired a crucial 60-meter Development Plan (DP) road-bound property, resolving a major traffic bottleneck at Katraj Chowk after 28 years. The civic body has paid ₹21.57 crore in cash compensation for 40 gunthas (40000 sq feet) of land, bringing it under PMC’s control and paving the way for congestion relief on Katraj-Kondhwa road and Katraj Chowk.
The acquisition was completed on Tuesday with municipal commissioner Dr Rajendra Bhosale, additional municipal commissioner Prithviraj BP, and deputy Commissioner Pratibha Patil playing a key role, while deputy engineer Digambar Bangar, branch engineer Rupali Dhage, draftsman Santosh Shinde, and special land acquisition officers Harshad Ghule and Ajikya Patil also contributed significantly to the process.
To facilitate the construction of the Katraj flyover, PMC will now use the land parcel for road construction as the plot is located right at the beginning of the flyover.
Pratibha Patil, deputy commissioner (Land and Estate Management), said, “We have completed the acquisition of 40 gunthas of prime land at Katraj Chowk. PMC paid ₹21.57 crore in cash compensation to the owner. Now, we will develop a 60-meter road. The land is also crucial for the Katraj-Kondhwa flyover. Due to a holiday on Wednesday, roadwork will commence on Thursday.”
For decades, Katraj Chowk has suffered persistent congestion despite the construction of a flyover on the Katraj-Kondhwa Road near the Katraj Zoo around seven years ago.
Initially, PMC had offered landowner Sanjay Gugale Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) as compensation. However, Gugale refused and filed a writ petition against PMC. In 2005, the court ruled that PMC could not use or encroach upon the land unless it was legally acquired.
In the 2017 Development Plan (DP), PMC changed the land’s reservation from a ‘park’ to a 60-meter road.
To further address congestion, NHAI proposed a six-lane flyover spanning 1,326 meters in length and 24.20 meters in width, stretching from the Pune-Mumbai Bypass to the Katraj-Kondhwa Road.
