Pune Airport Road to Shut Down Permanently: PMC Clears ₹30.84 Crore for New 30-Meter Alternate Route
The main road leading to Pune’s Lohegaon Airport is set to close down forever, paving the way for a brand-new, wider alternative approach to the airport.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) standing committee has officially greenlit a crucial financial allocation of ₹30.84 crore specifically for mandatory land acquisition to construct this 30-metre-wide alternate approach road. The intervention aims to preempt catastrophic gridlocks as the Indian Air Force (IAF) base and airport terminal undergo large-scale modernization and expansion.
Why is the Current Pune Airport Road Closing?
The existing 12-metre-wide access road that thousands of flyers use daily to travel from 509 Chowk to the airport terminal runs directly through defense boundary lines. Because the ongoing expansion of the strategic IAF base requires immediate security structural changes and extra space, this internal road will be completely sealed off to civil traffic once the alternate alignment is built.
Standing committee chairperson Shrinath Bhimale stated that the step is vital to strengthen city-airport connectivity in tandem with international upgrades. “The expansion plans make the closure of the existing defense-bordered road inevitable. We must have an operating, higher-capacity route ready to support the growing traffic load,” Bhimale explained.
The Technical Mapping of the New Route
The proposed 30-metre alternate road has been strategically mapped by the PMC road department via a detailed total station survey. The major project requires a massive parcel of land measuring roughly 14,629.76 square metres located in Lohegaon village.
The specific land boundaries finalized for immediate takeover belong to:
- Survey Number 226
- Survey Number 236
- Survey Number 237
- Survey Number 238
- Survey Number 239
From TDR to Cash Compensation: How Land is Being Cleared
Initially, the civic body attempted to acquire these vital plots by appealing to local property owners through Transferable Development Rights (TDR) and voluntary land exchange mechanisms. However, following a lukewarm response from private owners, the PMC transitioned its strategy to active compulsory acquisition.
The standing committee approved the dynamic sum of ₹30,83,95,341, calculated accurately using the latest ready reckoner rates. The layout will be legally processed under the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
Legal Approvals and the Next Steps
The alignment for this 30-meter alternative pathway is not a sudden plan. The PMC general body originally initialed the engineering layout in February 2020, which later received statutory backing from the Maharashtra State Government under Section 37 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966, formally modifying the city’s Development Plan (DP).
With the standing committee’s financial clearance, the civic administration is moving to submit the acquisition files directly to the Pune District Collector. A dedicated Special Land Acquisition Officer will soon declare the final financial awards to properties to start physical demolition and road-laying work. The entire layout cost is being independently financed via the PMC Road Department’s internal annual budget.
Relief for Lohegaon and 509 Chowk Commuters
Local commuter groups and aviation flyers have long complained about standard bottlenecks around the 509 Chowk junction. Ramdas Gavne, Superintendent Engineer of the PMC Road Department, noted that the current infrastructure is thoroughly choked during peak hours.
“Expanding the bottleneck to a uniform 30-meter width will decouple local Lohegaon village internal micro-traffic from high-speed passenger vehicles rushing towards the departure gates,” Gavne commented. Beyond relieving terminal flyers, urban planners note that this fast-tracked infrastructure will also systematically support the proposed cultural hubs and high-density growth zones planned in the extended Lohegaon layouts.
