The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) has begun preparing a long-term economic plan aimed at positioning the wider Pune region as a sustainable growth hub. The strategy—expected to be finalised within three months—seeks to outline economic, social and environmental priorities for 2030, 2035 and 2047, reflecting the region’s ambition to balance rapid expansion with climate resilience and inclusive development.
According to officials, the roadmap will begin with a baseline assessment of the metropolitan region’s economic strength, examining indicators such as productivity, job creation, investment flows and sectoral competitiveness. This will cover the Pune Municipal Corporation, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and surrounding growth corridors, which together form one of the country’s fastest-urbanising belts. The assessment will also map demographic details including population composition, income distribution and gender participation to evaluate equity gaps. Alongside economic metrics, the authority intends to compile a detailed profile of the region’s social infrastructure. This will include the current state of education, healthcare networks, connectivity, and public transport—areas where expanding demand continues to outpace planning. Officials noted that opportunities for transit-oriented development will receive particular attention, given the region’s reliance on upcoming metro corridors and ring road projects to reduce congestion and emissions.
The environmental dimension forms a major pillar of the plan. Experts involved in early consultations said the region’s air quality, renewable energy potential and water and wastewater systems would be assessed to identify long-term vulnerabilities. Pune’s strained water resources and rising waste volumes have become defining challenges of recent years, as the region absorbs a growing workforce drawn to its education, information technology, automotive and healthcare sectors. Benchmarking against high-performing global city regions is expected to offer context on how Pune can compete for investment while adopting more sustainable urban practices. Authorities also plan to evaluate sectors with the highest growth potential—including global capability centres, green energy manufacturing and tourism—to estimate their market size and job-creation capacity. A strengths-and-weaknesses assessment will accompany this exercise to outline systemic bottlenecks.
To translate the plan into action, PMRDA will identify priority interventions grouped under broader growth themes. These could include industrial clusters, an Aerocity development zone, radial mobility corridors, and waste-to-energy projects aimed at reducing landfill dependence. Officials said the final roadmap would present phased milestones, governance structures and support requirements from the state and Union governments. Urban planners observing the process describe the initiative as timely, noting that Pune’s metropolitan expansion has reached an inflection point. Without a long-term sustainability-focused framework, they warn, unchecked growth could deepen pressure on land, water and ecological systems, widening disparities in access and liveability. A structured plan, they say, offers an opportunity to guide development towards a more balanced, inclusive and low-carbon future for the region’s residents.
PMRDA Unveils Roadmap To Transform Pune Into A Sustainable Regional Growth Hub
