Widening of 323 Pune Roads Delayed as State Orders Fresh Proposal Review
Pune, 1st May 2025: The long-pending plan to widen 323 roads across Pune—including several major routes in the central part of the city—has hit a fresh hurdle. The Maharashtra state government has directed the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to re-submit a proposal to cancel a 2020 Standing Committee resolution that sanctioned widening these roads to nine meters.
The delay is expected to affect not just road infrastructure but also new construction projects planned along these stretches, particularly those dependent on road widening for regulatory approvals.
The original resolution, passed on June 9, 2020, during the tenure of then Standing Committee Chairman Hemant Rasne, had aimed to widen public roads in older city limits under Section 210(1)(b) of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949. The move, strongly backed by the ruling BJP at the time, triggered controversy, with accusations that the decision was made to benefit real estate interests.
Amid rising opposition, the PMC had forwarded the resolution to the state government for cancellation. Meanwhile, citizens and activists—including former corporator Ujwal Keskar, Suhas Kulkarni, and Prashant Badhe—challenged the decision in the Bombay High Court, alleging procedural lapses and lack of public consultation.
In compliance with the court’s directive, a joint meeting was recently held under the chairmanship of the Principal Secretary of the Urban Development Department. During the meeting, Keskar reiterated that the road widening resolution was processed improperly and without following due legal procedures. However, PMC Commissioner Dr. Rajendra Bhosale maintained that the decision adhered to the civic body’s existing urban development policy.
Following the hearing, the state government has now formally instructed the PMC to re-send the 2020 resolution for cancellation, reinforcing that the earlier submission for quashing must go through the proper official channel.
This development effectively stalls the road widening process for the foreseeable future, creating uncertainty for developers and residents alike. Those who had planned vertical expansions of properties based on the presumed road width are now facing a setback, as zoning regulations linked to road width remain unresolved.
The fate of key road infrastructure improvements in central Pune now hangs in the balance, pending a fresh round of governmental review and procedural clearance.
