PUNE: The ministry of defence has granted permission to the Directorate General of Defence Estates (DGDE) to hand over 1.85 hectares of land near Alandi to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) for the Eastern ring road project.
The land in question is part of an Indian Army camp at Rase-Bhose village near Alandi.
The MSRDC submitted an application to this effect to the ministry on May 7, and the Defence Estates Office (DEO) of Pune submitted a proposal to the MoD a few weeks ago.
A senior official from the DEO, who did not wish to be named, told TOI, "Dakshin Maharashtra and Goa Sub Area (DMGSA), which is the local military authority (LMA), had set up a board of officers to study the matter. On the basis of the board's recommendation, the ministry has approved the handover. The DEO office will complete the remaining requisite procedure in the coming days."
The Army has its training and bomb disposal facility spread over 1,200 acres of land in the Rase-Bhose village area. It is a strategic facility in the zone of these villages.
"The officers have considered the safety aspect of the project before giving its sanction. The facility is crucial for the Army as it uses for its exercise on regular intervals," added the official. The MSRDC needs to acquire 859.88 hectares of land in 46 villages in five tehsils for the eastern ring road project. The proposed 103km project will start from the Urse toll plaza on the Pune-Mumbai expressway and pass through villages before merging with the Mumbai-Bangalore highway in Bhor tehsil.
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