Pune Metro | Proposed

[cncity]

PMC's metro rail plan gets state approval

PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) proposal to build a metro rail has been endorsed by the state government. The government officials on Monday said that the proposal cannot be stayed as demanded by corporator Ujwal Keskar.

The comments came during a hearing in Mumbai on Monday on the mucu-debated metro proposal. While Keskar had asked the government for a stay on the proposal, urban development secretary Manukumar Shrivastav said that there is no such need.

Municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade and additional city engineer Shrinivas Bonala (in-charge of traffic and transportation) were also present for the hearing. In the discussion that followed the hearing, government offficials said that the technical and financial feasibility aspects of the project will be looked into.


Read more: PMC's metro rail plan gets state approval - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...#ixzz12oKptWJA

[achemsRaZor]

Yay! And it only took 4 years. So by 2014, we will see a plan being forwarded for funding approval and construction shall commence shortly thereafter by 2018 and will be suspended only upto 2021 as a fast track court will be appointed to settle the 334 cases lodged by the bleeding heart environmentalists.

Sorry for the frustration but we just cant seem to get traction on any important initiatives in Maharashtra !

[Marathaman]

Meanwhile other developing countries would have built citywide integrated transport systems with affordable mass housing and first rate utilities, all of this while conserving their urban heritage. This country is hopeless.

[SSCaddict]

Originally Posted by Marathaman

Meanwhile other developing countries would have built citywide integrated transport systems with affordable mass housing and first rate utilities, all of this while conserving their urban heritage. This country is hopeless.

thanks for your valuable comment

and please whenever a moment come for us to be proud of our country then please don't be proud thanks :-)

[Marathaman]

buzz off

[World8115]

Source

Although the state is still to decide about the metro railway proposed for Pune and forward the proposal to the Centre, mayor Mohansingh Rajpal on Friday said that as decided earlier, the foundation stone of the project will be laid on December 12, which also happens to be National Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar's birthday.

In June, the general body (GB) of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had approved the proposal to build a metro rail on the 14.925-km-long corridor from Vanaz (Paud road) to Ramwadi (Ahmednagar road). The GB had also resolved to execute a monorail project on the high capacity mass transit route in the city. After the GB's approval, the mayor had announced then that the foundation stone of the project would be laid on December 12.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Rajpal said, "We are following up with the state regarding the approval for the metro rail and I am confident that all technical matters will be sorted out by December 12, allowing us to go ahead with laying the foundation stone."

The Vanaz-Ramwadi route is the second corridor of the Pune metro rail project. The first corridor, which has not yet been taken up by the GBs in the PMC and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporations (PCMC), has been planned between the PCMC building and Swargate.

It may be noted that the state is yet to decide about the proposed project. The Centre's approval will be sought once the state gives its go-ahead. However, the state government has been sitting on the PMC's resolution since June.

Meanwhile, PMC's City Improvement Committee (CIC) has decided to acquire 75 acre of the proposed Bio-Diversity Park (BDP) zone land in Kothrud for the Shivsrushti project. This is likely to affect the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation's (DMRC) plan to build a major terminus for the proposed metro there. In July, the DMRC had communicated to the PMC that the two projects cannot co-exist and its general manager (consultancy), S Sharma, had written to the municipal commissioner saying as much.

"All these matters will be sorted out since the state and the central governments are positive about this project. The PMC has already demanded that the state give priority to projects in Pune as it does to the projects in Mumbai," added Rajpal.

[World8115]

Source

Members of the state legislature and parliament from the city on Monday decided to pursue the metro project proposal, lying with the state government for approval and to be forwarded to the central government.

A meeting was organised by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to apprise MPs, MLAs and MLCs about pending issues with the central and state governments.

The people’s representatives agreed to pursue the metro project, apart from many other issues, with the state government.

The general body of the PMC had approved the proposal for metro project from Vanaz to Ramwadi with a supplementary to extend the project to Lohegaon airport on June 24. Since then, the proposal is pending with the state government for approval.

The meeting was attended by MPs Prakash Javadekar and Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, MLAs Girish Bapat, Vinayak Nimhan, Bapu Pathare and Madhuri Misal, as well as MLCs Ulhas Pawar and Dipti Chowdhary. Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal, deputy mayor Prasanna Jagtap, leader of the house Nilesh Nikam, group leader of Shiv Sena in PMC Sham Deshpande and group leader of BJP Mukta Tilak attended the meeting.

Municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade and other officers briefed the leaders about the issues pending with the central and state governments.

It was pointed out that grants and taxes of crores of rupees are pending with both the governments and the representatives were requested to pursue this issue. The MPs were requested to pursue the problem of acquiring defence land for developmental work.

[World8115]

Source

While the Pune metro is a key step in solving the city’s traffic woes, the project is, quite literally, facing a number of roadblocks. Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) General Body (GB), has sanctioned the Shivshrushti project — a special area depicting Shivaji’s life — on the same plot of land in Kothrud where the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) had proposed a major terminus for the metro.

On January 27, 2010, the GB had sanctioned the Pune metro project. 11 months later, it passed the proposal for Shivshrushti on the same piece of land. City netas have decided that the extra 87 acres of land required will be taken from bio-diversity parks. The bone of contention here, is that this land is reserved for BDPs alone. Now, the metro could be at a standstill, because general manager (consultancy) of DMRC, S Sharma has clearly stated that only one project is possible on this piece of land.

Interestingly, the project is backed by the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), along with some corporators from the Congress. While none of these parties object to the metro, they argue that both projects can co-exist. Most of them definitely want the Shivshrushti project to take off, maybe even at the cost of the city’s development.

As if this wasn’t enough, about a year ago, Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar, had objected to the metro running through Agricultural College premises. The detailed project report (DPR) was made keeping this plot of land in mind and it now looks out of reach. That means, there are now two major blocks in the metro project — Vanaz in Kothrud and the Agricultural College.

Kothrud is a crucial area for the metro. The plot in Kothrud where Shivshrushti has been proposed measures around 28 acres. This is where DMRC has proposed a terminus. This is also the starting point for corridor no 1 that is Vanaz (Kothrud) to Ramwadi. The corridor is to be 19.93 km long.

Not surprisingly, city netas were not very forthright in their support for the metro project when we spoke to them.

Nilesh Nikam, leader of ruling party of PMC said, “We will build both projects in the same place. We are taking an additional 87 acres land from BDP. Once this is added, to the 28 acres in Kothrud, the total area will be 103 acres. Then it will be easy to make both the projects. We will discuss the detailed plan with DMRC officials. Having the metro terminus there will help the Shivshrusti project.”

Mayor Mohnsingh Rajpal said, “In the DMRC report, they have mentioned that the terminus will be in Kothrud. But, they have not mentioned the actual amount land required. Also, we don’t have a detailed plan showing how much land will be needed for Shivshrushti. We want both projects in the same area - that is why we are taking 87 acres of BDP land. Everyone wants both the projects to go ahead. We had planned the foundation laying ceremony on December 12, 2010. But, now it has been postponed due to the new political situation.”

Traffic planner Shreenivas Bonala, who is looking after the metro project said, “The DMRC had sent a letter to the PMC about the Kothrud metro terminus. They wrote that, both projects should not be made on the same piece of land. But, after detailed work on both projects, I think, it is possible to build them both in the same area.”

When this reporter contacted PMC commissioner Mahesh Zagade, he said, “It is difficult to discuss this over the phone. I would rather speak about it in person.”

The metro is one of Pune’s most ambitious projects as it can meet the city’s transport requirements for the next 30-40 years at least. The carrying capacity of the metro of 25,000 peak hour peak direction trips (PHPDT) will be adequate to meet not only the traffic needs for the present, but the next three-four decades, experts say. The proposed system has been divided into two corridors - the PCMC-Swargate Corridor, which is 16.59 km long, and the Vanaz (Kothrud) -Ramwadi Corridor.

[dibdigc]

[World8115]

Source

The metro project for the city may not get financial support from the Centre if the government decides to accept planning commission's deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia's suggestion.

Ahluwalia, on Friday, made a strong pitch for central support to projects like the metro, roads and bridges to be linked to reforms. And Pune, unlike its neighbour Pimpri-Chinchwad, has not been able to implement many reforms on basic objectives like waste disposal, sewage treatment and drinking water management.

Ahluwalia said that performance of states on reforms mooted by the mission was not encouraging and allocations henceforth would be strictly linked to results. "For the successful achievement of enshrined objectives, it is necessary to set up a credible plan for waste, sewage and drinking water management," he said.

The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), along with Mysore, bagged the Union government's first prize in implementing the slum rehabilitation project under the mission by using modern construction technology.

Administrative reforms and various schemes for the urban poor by the PCMC were also appreciated during the national conference organised by the Union urban development department in New Delhi on Friday to mark the fifth anniversary of the launch of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

The day-long conference convened to review implementation of JNNURM was attended by the urban development ministers from the states, mayors of JNNURM cities, municipal commissioners, senior officials of the central and state governments. The conference also discussed implementation of e-governance and property rights to improve governance.

"The PMC is slow on implementing reforms. The central government will surely examine the PMC's record before giving the metro a go ahead," said a senior state official. The metro, he added, was almost impossible if the central government decides against funding.

In June, the general body had approved the proposal to build a metro rail on 14.925-km corridor from Vanaz on Paud road to Ramwadi on Ahmednagar road. The state has to approve the project before the Centre's permission is sought.

The mission requires cities to implement certain reforms vis-?-vis the levy of user charges on different civic services. Many of the reforms mooted by the PMC have remained on paper.

E-governance is one of the mandatory reforms for civic bodies to receive funds from the Centre. So far, the PMC has made efforts like an online complaints redressal system and setting up kiosks where citizens can pay property tax and other payments. However, paper work in the PMC's daily functioning continues.

Another example is the water tax reforms. The civic administration feels that its failure to implement water tax reforms would affect the PMC's chances of claiming funds under the JNNURM for other development works. Proposals for 24x7 water supply, leak detection and water supply rationalisation have been pending with the civic body.

There is also trouble with transport utility. The urban development ministry had sanctioned 650 buses (500 for Pune and 150 for Pimpri-Chinchwad), but differences have cropped up between both civic bodies and the purchase has been affected .

"We are putting maximum efforts to ensure that all JNNURM reforms are completed within the deadline. No major project in Pune will get affected because of the non-execution of reforms," said municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade.

[World8115]

Source, Article

[devendra1]

Pune Metro has became a laughing stock

[Bombay2Calcutta]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/le...t-work/726302/
Leaders urge Chavan to expedite development work

Leaders of various political parties on Friday met Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan with various demands related to development work in the city and wrong practices being implemented in the civic body.

A delegation of city Congress led by party leader Abhay Chhajed urged the CM to give priority to pending proposals of the development projects for the city.

The proposal of Metro rail, development plan and setting up of the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) are awaiting the nod of the state government.

The delegation was assured that a meeting would be held on the issues related to the city by the beginning of next year.

BJP leader Sandeep Khardekar pointed out that the civic body was spending a large amount of money for sponsoring cultural programmes in the city.

“Chavan has accepted the demand of setting guidelines for the civic body to fund cultural functions,” said Khardekar.

[World8115]

Source

There is some good news on the metro front. Municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade on Friday said that the project was in 'positive' mode and the state government is expected to approve the project soon.

Zagade, who presented the annual draft budget for 2011-12 on Friday, said," We hope that the metro project progresses this year. The project is in positive mode with the state government. Electricity-based transport is the need of hour for Pune city and an elevated metro has been a successful model across the world."

The Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) general body has resolved to begin construction of the metro on the proposed 14.925 km corridor from Vanaz to Ramwadi. The project will cost Rs 2,281 (including taxes). The civic body plans to contribute 10 per cent, get 40 per cent from the state and Centre and the rest from private players. The proposal is pending with the state government and for further processing with the central government.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had recommended that its model for a metro railway be incorporated in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The DMRC had also suggested that a company be formed to run the project. It was decided by the state government last year that a high-powered committee led by chief secretary will look into the project.

"This year the PMC will start the process to introduce monorail on DBOOT model. The civic build-operate- transfer committee has already approved the proposal to seek expression of interest for the monorail," said Zagade.

However, the civic body does not expect any provisions for the metro or monorail projects in the state budget. "We look forward to getting state and central assistance once the projects get started, " said Zagade.

"The city also needs good public transport on the roads since the city's population is more than 42 lakh. Efforts are being made to strengthen the PMPML and more buses will be on the road in the next few years," said Zagade.

The state government has already endorsed the civic body's stand to build the 14.925-km second corridor of the metro railway from Vanaz on Paud road to Ramwadi on Ahmednagar road without waiting for the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's go-ahead.

[Bombay2Calcutta]

Review metro rail proposal: Parisar

PUNE: A study by a city-based environmental group has recommended that an independent expert team must first review the reports to check the validity of the metro rail project.

The study conducted by Parisar, which has been working for sustainable transport, states that if the review broadly agrees with the findings of the reports, then the city must go in for the metro-rail system, in a transparent and accountable manner. However, if the review finds any flaws in the projection, Parisar recommended that fresh projections using a transparent and well-defined method should be made.

Releasing the report on Monday, Parisar's programme director Ashok Sreenivas said that the available evidence presents a weak case for a metro in Pune. "The current proposal accepted by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has serious shortcomings. Hence, Parisar believes that the current proposal must be rejected. Any proposal for metro rail must be approved only after a thorough analysis of its benefits and costs," he said.

Sreenivas stated that Parisar has completed two detailed studies on the metro rail proposal. The first analysis was based on the data of three reports - the detailed project report (DPR) by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, the city's Comprehensive Mobility Plan and the traffic demand analysis for Pune's DPR prepared by Mott McDonald. The three reports had projected the traffic demand of the Pune metropolitan area over the next 25 years.

The second study analysed the decision process leading to the approval of the proposal, as well as the socio economic benefits claimed for the metro rail. Parisar stated that proposed metro rail has a negative socio-economic net present value in all scenarios. Demanding that the state government and the central government should critically review the detailed project report for Pune's metro rail, Parisar stated that even if the city requires a metro rail, the things that need to be done first include strengthening the bus system, modes of walking and cycling, and integrating all the modes into a common transport system.



Read more: Review metro rail proposal: Parisar - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...#ixzz1DygqZkTP

[World8115]

Pune Metro proposal faulty: Parisar

Source

City-based NGO Parisar Urban Transport Group has questioned the decision-making process behind the approval of Pune’s metro rail project by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). It has also raised issues regarding the authenticity of the secondary data that formed the skeleton of the proposal.

Parisar has drawn the conclusion based on its two recent studies on the project, which points out many shortcomings in the proposal accepted by the civic body.

The first study was a preliminary analysis of whether Pune needs a metro rail system. The second study analysed in detail the decision-making processes in approving Pune’s metro rail proposal as well as the detailed project report (DPR) of the metro rail prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

Parisar programme director, Ashok Sreenivas, said it took three months to complete the study.

An IIT Bombay alumnus with a doctorate in computer science, Sreenivas worked as a scientist for over 15 years, before moving to the social sector. Currently, he works for Parisar and Prayas Energy Group on conceptualising and executing programs for sustainable transport in Pune and across the country.

“Parisar believes that the current proposal must be rejected, and any proposal for a system such as a metro must only be approved after a thorough analysis of its benefits and costs. Until then, the PMC must focus on faster and cheaper solutions such as improving the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) and conditions for pedestrians and cyclists,” he said.

The preliminary analysis of metro rail was based on secondary data from three reports: the DPR prepared by DMRC, the city’s comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) and the traffic demand analysis for Pune’s DPR prepared by Mott McDonald.

It looked only at traffic volume data from these reports to see whether a metro rail was justified on any corridor based on a simple metric of peak hour traffic demand exceeding 20,000 in one direction.

The Parisar study states that though data from these reports suggest that a metro rail may be justified for Pune, the data itself was questionable. For example, one report states that Ganeshkhind Road already carries more than 40,000 people per direction in the peak hour, which it says is not possible.
Further, it states that it is necessary to first conduct a detailed review of the data in the three reports and improve it before any conclusion can be reached whether Pune needs a metro rail.

“The DMRC commissioned a 2008 report from IIT Bombay to project ridership along potential metro rail corridors. To do this, the institute used a ‘stated preference survey’ asking citizens for their preferred mode of public transport from among various alternatives. Therefore, the ridership figures were estimated from a deeply flawed consumer survey,” said the study.

The second Parisar study that used data obtained by the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, to reconstruct the timeline of various events that led to the approval of metro rail proposal finds that some ad hoc decisions have been made.

One of it is granting a conditional extension to the Vanaz-Ramwadi corridor to Kharadi and the airport without any studies to back it up. The PMC has made some misleading statements in this regard, such as claiming that the metro was justified by the CMP, though the metro DPR was commissioned before the CMP.

[Bombay2Calcutta]

Why there is so much oppsition to the metro in Pune? I wonder when it will see the light.

[World8115]

Its the same thing since 2-3 years. Things will expedite when Central Gov approval is given

[Bombay2Calcutta]

State okays metro rail project for city

PUNE: The state government on Thursday approved the Pune metro rail project and said it would make a budgetary provision for the 14.9-km second corridor from Vanaz on Paud road to Ramwadi on Pune-Ahmednagar road. The proposal would be forwarded to the central government for a final approval within 15 days.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan made this announcement in Mumbai at a meeting with elected representatives from Pune.

"The chief minister said the state government fully supports the project. The government will make a provision for the project in the budget to be presented in March," said NCP leader Nilesh Nikam.

Congress leader Aba Bagul said the metro project will cost Rs 2,281 crore. The Pune Municipal Corporation will contribute 10 per cent towards the project, get 40 per cent from the state and the Centre and source the remaining amount from private players.

"The MLAs and party leaders also discussed the option of an underground metro, but that would prove to be a more expensive affair," said Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe.

A high-powered committee of the state government will look into the project, which will be implemented through a special purpose vehicle (SPV).


Read more: State okays metro rail project for city - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...#ixzz1EGNTCWp7

[World8115]

Metro project, devp authority on priority list: Chavan to MLAs

Source

Speeding up the implementation of the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) and the metro proposal for Pune are the state’s ‘among the top priorities’, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said on Thursday.

He was addressing a meeting convened by city MLAs in Mumbai. It was decided to make a budget provision for the 14.925-km second corridor for the proposed Pune metro from Vanaz to Ramwadi and forward the same to the Centre by month-end.

The meeting saw the MLAs discuss a number of projects and proposals related to the city such as the proposed Pune metro rail project, ring road, city's Development Plan and the inclusion of new villages into the Pune Municipal Corporation, the CM was keen to speed up the metro proposal as well as the PMRDA, said MLA Chandrakant Mokate who attended the two hour long meeting.

The CM in his interaction said that the state government fully supports the project and by end of the month the proposal will be forwarded to the central government for its approval while the state government would make budgetary provisions. The PMC standing committee had decided to build the metro railway on the said corridor wherein the estimate cost of the project was slated to be Rs 2,281 crore wherein the civic body will contribute 10 per cent and get 40 per cent from the state and centre and source the rest from private parties. Mokate said that the CM was keen to find out the hurdles which were delaying the implementation of the PMRDA as well as has sought details on the delay. The chief minister has also asked the PMC to present details of the ring road to the state government and has instructed the PMC to ensure that garbage generated in the city is processed in the city limits. However there was no progress on the issue of BDP. The CM has asked the PMC to present the old DP for the old city before May 31.

Vinayak Nimhan (Congress), Bapu Pathare (NCP), Mahadeo Babar and Chandrakant Mokate (Shiv Sena), Girish Bapat and Madhuri Misal(BJP), Ramesh Wanjale and three MLCs including Mohan Joshi, Dipti Chaudhary (Congress), Neelam Gorhe (Shiv Sena) and Anil Bhosale (NCP) attended the meet.