Pune Growth Hub Plan To Reach Centre By November-End; ₹5,000 Crore Sought

Pune: The Maharashtra Government will submit the comprehensive development plan for the Pune Growth Hub to the Centre by the end of November, seeking an initial allocation of ₹5,000 crore for the ambitious project aimed at transforming the Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR) into a global economic centre.

Deputy Chief Minister and Pune Guardian Minister Sunetra Pawar reviewed the progress of the development plan at a meeting held at the Pune Collectorate on Friday. Senior officials from various government departments and civic bodies attended the meeting to discuss the proposed roadmap and development priorities.

The Pune Growth Hub initiative, being implemented with the support of NITI Aayog, aims to accelerate economic growth by identifying investment opportunities and strengthening infrastructure across PMR. Pune is among the cities selected for the initiative, alongside Mumbai, Surat, Varanasi and Visakhapatnam.

An MoU was signed between the Maharashtra Government, NITI Aayog and Pune International Centre in August last year to facilitate the initiative.

The development blueprint is being prepared by considering the growth potential of various sectors, including manufacturing, information technology, the automobile industry, education, aviation, healthcare, agriculture and research. Suggestions and proposals from different government departments and agencies are being incorporated to determine the region's long-term development strategy.

The comprehensive plan will be submitted to the Centre through a high-level committee chaired by the Chief Minister. The State Government will seek ₹5,000 crore from the Centre in the first phase to implement key development projects under the initiative.

The project envisages substantial economic investment over the next decade, up to 2036. The proposed investments are expected to strengthen infrastructure, promote industrial development and generate growth opportunities across multiple sectors in PMR.

Former Chief Secretary and Chairman of the Sixth State Finance Commission Dr Nitin Kareer, Divisional Commissioner Sheetal Teli-Ugale, MahaMetro Managing Director Shravan Hardikar, Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi, PMRDA Commissioner Abhijit Chaudhary, District Collector Jitendra Dudi and Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officer Gajanan Patil were among those present.