Pune Hinjawadi Traffic Worsens as Rs650 Cr Road Plans Stall
Pune faces mounting traffic crisis in the bustling Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park at Hinjawadi continues to test the patience of thousands of daily commuters, as key infrastructure upgrades worth ₹650 crore remain entangled in administrative red tape. A trio of crucial road projects intended to streamline vehicular movement has seen virtually no physical progress due to repeated delays in land acquisition.
Originally planned by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), the infrastructure overhaul includes the Laxmi Chowk flyover, a six-lane arterial road between Shivaji Chowk and the crematorium, and an alternate connecting road across Phases I to III of the IT Park. These projects were expected to ease traffic congestion in what is arguably Pune’s most vital tech and commercial zone. However, despite the clear urgency and a budget commitment of over half a thousand crore rupees, the projects are marooned in a bureaucratic tug-of-war. The land acquisition responsibility has bounced between the Public Works Department (PWD), MIDC, and the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA). Most recently, PMRDA returned the baton to MIDC, creating a further delay in initiating compensation discussions with affected landowners.
Officials acknowledged the complications in a statement, noting that “farmers have demanded cash compensation rather than Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), which necessitates MIDC’s intervention and proposal to the Pune District Collector.” Until this request is formally submitted, the compensation process cannot begin.MIDC experts, however, painted a picture of procedural paralysis. “We have not received any official letter from PMRDA transferring the land acquisition back to us. As soon as we do, we will take the necessary steps,” she stated, underscoring the inertia that has plagued the initiative for months.
The projects are vital not only for relieving traffic but also for sustaining economic activity in the region. Hinjawadi, one of India’s top-tier IT parks, houses global tech giants and supports a workforce running into lakhs. Gridlocks in the area routinely stretch travel times, fuel stress levels, and undercut productivity. The pending flyover and road expansions are not optional luxuries—they are lifelines for the area’s future viability. With urban sprawl rapidly outpacing road capacity, the stakes are high. The government’s inability to efficiently manage inter-agency coordination and landowner compensation threatens to derail an infrastructure promise that Pune’s tech ecosystem desperately needs fulfilled.
As landowners wait for their dues, and MIDC awaits a green light that never arrives, the ₹650 crore blueprint remains a file on someone’s desk—while Hinjawadi’s commuters remain gridlocked in a jam no bypass can currently fix.
