The Pune Municipal Corporation has moved the 36-metre Pashan-Baner Link Road closer to execution after paying around ₹70 crore for land acquisition, ending a major hurdle that had kept the connectivity project stalled for more than two decades.
The development was marked by a foundation-laying ceremony for the proposed road and other civic works in Ward 9, according to Pune Mirror. The project is intended to improve connectivity between Pashan and Baner, two areas that have seen rapid development and continuing demand for road access and basic municipal infrastructure.
The land acquisition payment represents the main reported step towards restarting the long-pending project. The source did not provide a construction completion date, detailed alignment, contractor information or a confirmed schedule for opening the road to traffic. The road is planned to be 36 metres wide.
The renewed push involved Union Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol, Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, MP Medha Kulkarni and corporator Mayuri Kokate, according to the report. The civic body has also allocated ₹9 crore for infrastructure improvements across Ward 9 following Kokate’s follow-up with the administration.
The Ward 9 works are expected to cover road repairs, footpaths, street lighting, stormwater drains and drainage networks. The package also includes plans for public toilets, a recreation centre for senior citizens, a Buddhist vihara, sports grounds, protective walls along drains and improvements to cremation grounds. The report did not specify the individual budgets, tender status or implementation timelines for these works.
The combination of the link road and neighbourhood-level works points to two separate but connected infrastructure requirements in the Pashan-Baner belt. A larger connecting road can address movement between expanding residential areas, while footpaths, drainage, lighting and road repairs determine how residents experience access within those neighbourhoods. However, the available details establish funding and announced works rather than completed construction.
Further connectivity projects in the surrounding areas are also expected to receive attention. BJP leader Rahul Kokate said work on Sutarwadi’s main road, important roads in Susgaon and Mhalunge, a grade separator at Sus Khind and service roads along the highway would be taken up soon. The report did not state whether these works have received administrative approvals, funding sanctions or work orders.
For residents, the immediate significance of the announcement is that land acquisition, which had delayed the Pashan-Baner link for 21 years, has progressed and a civic works package has been announced for Ward 9. The next publicly relevant milestones will be the project’s detailed execution schedule, construction tendering and the start of physical road work. PMC’s implementation of the announced road, drainage, footpath and lighting works will determine when the improved connectivity and civic services become available.
