The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) will begin measuring land in Kolwadi from October 15 for the proposed Inner Ring Road, after affected farmers indicated conditional support for the acquisition process at a meeting held on October 9. The administration has set a target of completing the land acquisition process by the end of December.
The proposed road is intended to help address traffic congestion in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The Kolwadi meeting followed a similar meeting held two days earlier in Manjari Khurd, where landowners also discussed compensation and the next steps for identifying affected properties.
The meeting at the Kolwadi gram panchayat hall was attended by Vitthal Udamle, deputy collector for land acquisition, along with branch engineer Kartik Patil, clerk Rohit Chopade and village revenue officer Arjun Swami. Udamle spoke with affected farmers about their demands and difficulties before the administration confirmed the measurement schedule.
The planned Inner Ring Road will be 65 metres wide, with nine-metre service roads on both sides. The administration will first seek the consent of farmers before measuring the land and identifying the affected area. Officials said houses, trees, wells, borewells and water pipelines located within the affected area would be recorded through formal inspection reports, or panchnamas, and compensation would be paid based on those assessments.
Udamle said the valuation would be conducted after the land acquisition notice is published. Information on land sale and purchase transactions from the previous three years would be collected, while registered sale deeds and prevailing market rates would be considered while determining compensation. He said the administration would ensure that farmers in Kolwadi were not treated unfairly.
The compensation process is a key concern for landowners. Farmer Nilesh Ghule said Kolwadi farmers should receive compensation at market rates comparable to those paid in Manjari Khurd. He warned that farmers would oppose the project if there was discrimination between the compensation offered in the two villages. Ghule said the farmers did not oppose development but required fair payment for their land, and asked that land measurement in Kolwadi and Manjari Khurd be conducted on the same day.
Farmer Ashok Avhale asked the administration to hold an early meeting to determine compensation immediately after the measurement was completed. He said the farmers had adopted a positive position at the first meeting to help move the project forward, but expected the administration to respond positively to their demands.
Udamle said the meeting had been positive for both the administration and the farmers and confirmed that land measurement in Kolwadi would begin on October 15. After the measurement is completed, the details will be published and another meeting will be held to determine compensation. The administration said decisions would be taken to ensure that no farmer was treated unfairly.
