Pune: HCMTR Project Picks Up Pace; Construction Bids Likely in October as Land Process Moves Ahead

Pune’s long-pending High Capacity Mass Transit Route (HCMTR) project has moved a step closer to execution, with proposals for transfer of government land submitted to the district administration and construction bids expected to be invited in October 2026.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and district administration have accelerated the land acquisition and technical processes for both the HCMTR and Inner Ring Road projects. The progress was reviewed at a high-level joint meeting held at the Pune District Collector’s office.

The 35.96-km HCMTR is planned as a fully elevated, six-lane circular corridor around Pune’s core areas. It will start at Bopodi junction, encircle the city and end at Vishrantwadi junction, passing over 34 major junctions.

A major advantage for the HCMTR project is that around 85% of the required land is already held by various government departments and mainly needs to be transferred between departments. Only around 15% of the land needs to be acquired.

This could allow the tender process to proceed after the required government land is transferred, while acquisition of private land continues simultaneously. Around 4.98 lakh sq m of land is required for the HCMTR.

The PMC Standing Committee has approved a total of ₹3,722 crore towards land acquisition for the HCMTR and Inner Ring Road projects. The PMC is expected to bear the land acquisition cost, while formal proposals have already been submitted to the district administration.

District Collector Jitendra Dudi has issued guidelines and a stipulated timeline to speed up land acquisition for the two projects. A meeting to finalise land market values and rates is expected to be held by October 10.

The latest review has also brought movement on the Inner Ring Road project. PMC said its alignment has been finalised. Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram has directed officials to immediately initiate the modification process under Section 37 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act for the changed alignment.

The Inner Ring Road is proposed to be 83.12 km long, with approximately 7.23 lakh sq m of land identified for the project.

PMC said further action for acquiring the required defence and railway land for both the HCMTR and Inner Ring Road will be taken in coordination with the departments concerned.

The HCMTR will have a 24-metre right of way and six lanes constructed on single pillars. Up and down ramps are proposed at 17 locations. The main carriageway will have a design speed of 50 kmph, while the ramps will be designed for 25 kmph.

Of its 35.96-km alignment, 17.8 km will run along existing roads. Another 5.28 km will cover nalas, canals and river crossings, while 5.34 km will pass through forest land, open land, greenfield areas and railway land. The remaining 7.54 km will cover built-up areas, slums and vacant land.

The joint review meeting was attended by District Collector Jitendra Dudi, Additional Municipal Commissioner Omprakash Divate, Deputy Commissioner (Land Acquisition) Nikhil More, City Engineer Aniruddha Pawaskar, Chief Engineer Dinkar Gojare and senior officials from the Land Acquisition Deputy Collector and Town Planning departments.