Pune City Excavation Row: Contractor Told to Submit Repair Proof Before New Work
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 19th November 2025: With large parts of the city disrupted due to continuous digging along roads and footpaths, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has issued a stern notice to the contractor responsible for the ongoing excavation work. The Road Department has directed the contractor to first repair the stretches already dug up before seeking permission for any further excavation.
Residents across Pune have been raising complaints as roads, sidewalks, and even internal lanes near housing societies and shops remain in poor condition after excavation. While trenches have been dug across major routes, many have also been opened diagonally to cross intersections, worsening traffic movement and causing daily inconvenience.
The digging work is being carried out for two key projects:
• Laying cables for the police department’s new citywide CCTV network, as mandated by the Home Department.
• Laying cables for the disaster management-related Command and Control Centre by MahaPreit Company.
However, citizens have alleged that contractors are working in an unplanned and careless manner, leaving behind uneven surfaces, debris, and unrepaired walkways. These issues have persisted despite repeated public complaints and earlier warnings, including reports highlighting the matter.
PMC Road Department head Aniruddha Pawaskar has now issued a formal notice to contractor Dinesh Engineering Limited. As per PMC norms, only 500 metres of road can be excavated at a time, and the next stretch can be opened only after the previous one is fully repaired and re-asphalted. Officials say this condition is being violated repeatedly.
The notice states that no further excavation will be permitted without a written order from the Road Department. The contractor has been instructed to immediately complete re-asphalting of all previously dug areas and submit a detailed report along with photographic evidence. The civic body has also flagged concerns about inadequate safety measures and non-compliance with excavation rules.
Despite the warning, citizens remain skeptical about whether the contractor will follow the directive, given past experiences where such notices had little impact on the pace and quality of restoration work.
