Pune’s Roads Adopted & Abandoned In Just Nine Months

Pune: The city's 2,000km road network is its lifeline, with just 32 arterial stretches — spanning about 270km — carrying nearly 80% of the city's traffic. Yet many of these key corridors resemble neglected back alleys rather than vital arteries.To fix this, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) launched ‘Adopt A Road' last July, pitching it as a citizen-driven push to restore failing roads. On paper, the idea appeared elegant. PMC identified key roads in the three areas and invited citizens to work alongside civic officials to monitor and maintain them. Nine months on, in the pilot areas of Vimannagar, Kalyaninagar and Yerawada, residents said the effort has fizzled out — stalled by apathy, broken promises and officials' silence. For example, Kalyaninagar In Kalyaninagar, East Avenue (from NM Medical Chowk to Bishop's School) was chosen as the test stretch. "At first, it seemed serious," Drayson Dixon, vice-chairperson of Team Swachh Kalyaninagar (TSKN) said. "The junior engineer came with the contractor, we did a recce and were told exactly what needed to be done," he added. As it was an approximately 1.5km stretch, the residents split it into sections, taking turns to walk it, inspect it and document every flaw. The result was a meticulous and detailed report, which was sent to the junior engineer of the ward. "For two or three days, there was activity. About 35% of the work got done. But then, everything came to a standstill," Dixon said. What followed was a slow unravelling. At the launch, city-based activists had warned that the initiative would only succeed if it moved beyond paperwork. The plan promised joint monitoring by a PMC official and residents using 30 parameters — from broken footpaths and missing signage to illegal dumping. At least 45 PMC officials and as many residents were meant to drive the first phase across all pilot areas. But according to TSKN chairperson Rachna Aggarwal, PMC's urgency extended only as far as collecting reports. "They made us run around and submit everything within days. After some token work, all we hear now is ‘no budget'. Officers don't even take our calls anymore. It is very disappointing and disheartening for all the residents who put in their time and effort to recce the stretch," she said. In the report, TSKN highlighted missing and loose paver blocks, potholes, encroached footpaths, hawkers, illegal hoardings, all of which were supported by photographs, but now lie ignored. "Everyone from Pune police to traffic personnel and even Metro officials are extremely hands-on, and we see the effort they take to address issues and implement suggestions. But, with PMC, everything goes wrong," Aggarwal rued. TSKN secretary Jaffar Iqbal says the road is worse now than before the initiative began. "We followed up relentlessly with ward officers, including with PMC deputy commissioner Madhav Jagtap, who launched the programme. But pavers are still missing and potholes untouched. Now, they've dug up footpaths again. There is zero cooperation from the road department," he said. More areas, same story Less than 4km away in Yerawada, the tale repeats itself. Autorickshaw driver Ganesh Dhaymukte patrols his neighbourhood with a watchful eye. The Yerawada bridge stretch from Rajiv Gandhi Hospital to Chandrama Hotel, he said, remains battered. "Yes, they cleaned for a bit. But footpaths are broken or missing, the median is crumbling. Whatever little work happened came only after constant chasing," Dhaymukte said. Today, even the WhatsApp group of some residents and officials created for the initiative lies silent. No replies and no updates. "I still complain on the PMC Care portal, but nobody responds. Still, that hope hasn't died," he said. "Now, work has begun on reducing footpath width in patches on the stretch for some other work," he added. The irony is hard to miss. The initiative did succeed in awakening civic engagement. But without follow-through, that enthusiasm has curdled into frustration. Shyamala Desai, president of the National Society for Clean Cities, insists the pilot wasn't a total failure. "In Zone 1, where the pilot was initiated, there were some improvements, especially in cleanliness. Citizen involvement itself is a win," she said. Yet she also pointed to the core issue — breakdown at the ward level. "Once a complaint is filed on the PMC Care portal, we treat it like an FIR. The next step is following up with officials. Issues such as illegal hoardings have reduced in some areas, but the real problem is poor coordination at the ward level. Senior officials launch initiatives with seriousness, but coordination on the ground is lacking. That's where everything collapses," Desai said. In Vimannagar, residents say cleanliness is the only visible gain. "Work was brisk before the civic elections. But once the model code of conduct was enforced in Dec 2025, everything stalled, and never restarted," said Vivek Deo, a mohalla committee member. In Vimannagar, a couple of streets were picked for the initiative, including the stretch from Gangapuram Chowk to Ganpati Chowk and another in Sakorenagar. Residents said that though encroachments remained rampant, the traffic situation improved partially. Deo, who monitored the adopted road in Sakorenagar, said, "Senior officials were enthusiastic. Orders were issued. But ward officers just didn't carry it forward. Madhav Jagtap from PMC led several meetings to drive the initiative, but it never reached its full potential. A civic effort can be called a success even at 70-80% completion, but we didn't even get there. I tried hard to bring ward officers on board, but lethargy crept in — and when ward boundaries changed, the entire effort flatlined."‘Citizens shouldn't do PMC's job' Vimannagar resident and civic activist Qaneez Sukhrani told TOI that after she filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in Bombay high court for enforcement of pedestrians' rights in Pune, HC in an order dated April 3, 2025, said it was PMC's statutory responsibility to provide safe and unobstructed passage for pedestrians. PMC was directed to put a grievance redressal mechanism in place, which it has still not done a year down the line, she pointed out. "Regardless of this adopt-a-road initiative, if I see an issue on any stretch in Vimannagar or Nagar Road, I reach out to the authorities and follow up with them till it is fixed. In many cases, even when PMC conducts drives and removes encroachments, they come back in a few hours. So, the civic body needs to take stricter action against repeat offenders. While I appreciate the efforts put in by residents of other neighbourhoods, it is not fair for the civic body to ask citizens to do their job. Surveying neighbourhoods and identifying issues that need to be fixed is the administration's responsibility," said Sukhrani. "I have sent about 20 reminders between July 2025 and March 2026, requesting that a committee be constituted to ensure that all footpaths are used with due respect to pedestrians and constructed according to IRC 103:2022 norms. However, nothing has happened yet. I have now initiated a process to get a contempt of court notice sent to PMC," she added.OFFICIAL-SPEAKA lot of work on the roads selected under the initiative have been completed. Some work is pending. I will be convening a meeting with all stakeholders involved in the coming days for updates. If residents feel that civic officials are not coordinating with them, we will address that issue as well in the meeting — Madhav Jagtap | Deputy commissioner, PMC