Pune’s third Metro line received a boost on Tuesday with the Maharashtra government setting aside land for the purpose, which will be monetised to fund work on the Metro project and get it going.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the state government had allotted 5.1 hectares at Balewadi for the metro project. The value of this land is Rs 153 crore and will be the contribution of the state government to fast-forward the Metro project, the Maharashtra CM said.
The Rs 8,000-crore, 23.33-km third Metro line from Pune’s IT hub at Hinjewadi to central Pune is being implemented by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA).
According to PMRDA metropolitan commissioner Kiran Gitte, this was in line with their strategy to acquire land with commercial possibilities and raise funds through land monetisation. The PMRDA has already raised Rs 21 crore so far through land auctions and the target was to raise Rs 250 crore by end of the year.