Pimpri-Chinchwad: An important meeting of almost all government agencies in Pune was chaired on Wednesday afternoon at Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority's (PMRDA) Akurdi Office. The main agenda of this meeting was to reduce the increasing road accidents in the IT Belt area of Hinjawadi and Wakad in Pune District, as this year alone, 39 deaths have taken place in these areas. PMRDA Commissioner Dr Yogesh Mhase assured road repairs, which will reduce accidents and solve the traffic congestion problem in the IT hub too.
The meeting brought together all PMRDA department heads and senior officials from Pimpri-Chinchwad Police, the Revenue Department, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and other government agencies. The meeting was also attended by key representatives of residents' and employees' organisations.
'Repair the roads by December 5'
If reports are to be believed, PMRDA Chief Dr Yogesh Mhase took an aggressive stance in this meeting, asserting his authority and demanding accountability from all officials present from PMRDA and other agencies. The most stringent directive issued in the meeting concerned road safety and maintenance. Dr Mhase strictly instructed all concerned agencies to ensure that all roads under their jurisdiction are made pothole-free before December 5.
Furthermore, the Pimpri-Chinchwad's Additional Commissioner of Police, Sarang Awad, declared a policy of absolute accountability. He said that if a fatality occurs due to a pothole, a criminal case will be registered against the officers and employees of the department responsible for that road. This introduces direct criminal liability for negligence on civic officials, along with other parties involved.
Sachin Londhe, one of the petitioners in the Unclog Hinjawadi IT Park movement and also the chairman of Wakad-Pimpri-Chinchwad Residents Development & Welfare Association, told The Free Press Journal, “The meeting's main agenda was repair of roads and other things which will increase the infrastructure quality in Hinjawadi and surrounding areas. The government believes all these steps will help reduce the fatal accidents that have rocked our area, and also the severe traffic congestion problem. As an employee and local citizen who commutes daily, this problem has instilled terror in our minds about travelling in Hinjawadi.”
Wider Roads, Less Traffic
To address severe traffic congestion, which is also a major contributor to accidents, PMRDA finalised plans for new and improved routes. The land acquisition process will be fast-tracked by MIDC for the construction of a new road and an elevated corridor between Hinjawadi Phase-1 and Phase-3 on the Hinjawadi-Pirangut-Ghotawade State Highway. At the same time, the concessionaire for the Hinjawadi Metro Line-3 has been ordered to immediately fill all potholes beneath the construction line and restore the roads, including asphalting, to their original condition before handing them over to MIDC. Metro has promised to make the roads in the same condition they received them in, but this might take a few months, the officials told The FPJ.
These Points Were Discussed Too:
- Land acquisition for the Bhugaon Bypass will be finalised soon; NHAI will issue the work order next week.
- Alternate parallel roads and a new bypass are planned to ease heavy congestion at Wagholi and Shikrapur.
- Underpasses and service roads to be built along key stretches of the Pune–Mumbai Bypass and National Highway.
- RTO directed to act against dust-causing RMC plants, negligent builders, and reckless dumper drivers.
- PMRDA to fund CCTV installation in Hinjawadi for improved traffic monitoring and accident investigations.
