Municipal Commissioner assures completion of Katraj-Kondhwa Road by June 2026
The foundation stone for the Katraj-Kondhwa stretch was laid in 2017 however progress has been painfully slow due to delays in land acquisition resulting in less than 50% of the work being completed in the past eight years
Pune municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram recently assured that the much-delayed Katraj-Kondhwa bypass road will be completed by June 2026, no matter what. Ram was speaking at a real estate conclave held on September 11 while sharing the dais with Pune district collector Jeetendra Dudi.
“This is my final promise as the Katraj-Kondhwa bypass road project will be completed by the end of June 2026. The issue was never impossible; it just needed the right decision at the right level. The district collector and I held a joint meeting and agreed on a clear, integrated, and systematic plan. We are not short on funds but what we need is vision, direction and the continued support of citizens,” Ram said. He added that the administration has set a firm deadline in order to restore public trust and finally bring relief to thousands of commuters.
Recently, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) sanctioned ₹270 crore for the land acquisition necessary to widen the Katraj-Kondhwa Road to 50 metres. Of the ₹270 crore, ₹220 crore has been mobilised by reallocating funds from various departments. The proposal was approved by the standing committee during its meeting on Friday, September 12. While the original blueprint proposed an 84-metre-wide road, the width has been revised to 50 metres to contain costs and streamline execution.
The foundation stone for the Katraj-Kondhwa stretch was laid in 2017 however progress has been painfully slow due to delays in land acquisition resulting in less than 50% of the work being completed in the past eight years. Of the required 94.46 lakh square feet of land, only about 46,456 square feet has been acquired so far. Although many landowners are seeking direct monetary compensation, transferable development rights (TDR) have emerged as a popular alternative in several areas.
Construction is already underway where land has been acquired, including development of a grade separator to ease the movement of traffic. To address longstanding waterlogging issues, especially near Rajas Society and outside State Bank of India (SBI), the PMC will install two 300 mm rainwater drainage lines along the affected stretches.
The Katraj-Kondhwa bypass road is expected to significantly reduce traffic congestion once completed. The state government had initially sanctioned ₹140 crore for the project. The PMC later proposed an additional ₹200 crore in its budget but due to continued delays, opted to fund the land acquisition independently, stepping in after the state was requested to provide ₹480 crore.
