HC deadline to acquire land over, BPLR remains tough to traverse

Pune: The civic body has overshot the two-month deadline given by the Bombay high court to acquire land and will likely find it difficult to complete the works on Baner Pashan Link Road (BPLR) in the assigned four months, leaving citizens to continue with their daily dangerous commute.The deadline mandated for land acquisition expired on June 17 and there is no visible progress on ground, said local residents.A two-wheeler rider told TOI, ""I hope they construct the road soon. I travel on the route daily and it's very dangerous in the rain. The stretch is like a short forest trail often littered with garbage. It is very risky to have a pillion rider, who often have to get off and walk till the muddy trail ends." He said he had narrowly avoided an accident while navigating a slippery bend through the trees recently.BPLR was first included in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)'s Development Plan in 1992, but saw partial construction only in 2014. The road remains incomplete even after 33 years, with critical segments awaiting development because land acquisition has run into hurdles.Rajendra Chuttar, president of the BPLR Welfare Trust, emphasised the urgency of the situation, "It is a long-pending issue and people are extremely inconvenienced. We urge PMC to resolve it at the earliest."Trust secretary Ravindra Sinha said he had filed an RTI application on June 17 asking PMC and the district collector for information on the status of land acquisition. "Once they reply, we will decide our future course of action," he said.Residents said monsoon worsens the situation every year. The incomplete stretch is muddy and treacherous, while encroachments and heaps of soil obstruct the rest of the link road. "Even the completed sections are not on a par. The road doesn't align with PMC's own blueprint and footpaths remain incomplete. As a whole, BPLR stays incomplete," a local resident said.Shweta Darunkar, special land acquisition officer in charge of the area, said, "Land acquisition is in process and may take around three months. It is not a stand alone action and we cannot do much till we receive the whole amount. We are waiting for PMC to disburse 30% of the funds to complete the activity. We have got in touch with our legal team to figure out what do now that the deadline is over."Citizens had pinned hopes on the court's order earlier this year, believing it would fasttrack the development. The vital connection between Baner, Pashan, Aundh and Balewadi continues to remain on paper.Aniruddha Pawaskar, chief engineer of PMC's road department, did not comment on the missed deadline and, instead, said, "PMC will deposit Rs15 crore, which is 30% of the whole amount, to the collector's office over the next few days."

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