As tender process draws near, PMC begins public engagement for proposed BBPP Link Road - Hindustan Times
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As tender process draws near, PMC begins public engagement for proposed BBPP Link Road

BySiddharth Gadkari
Mar 27, 2023 11:49 PM IST

The consultant appointed by the civic body, has claimed that 72% of the 18,000 citizens surveyed in the past few days have responded in favour of the road

PUNE: WWith the tender process drawing closer, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Shivajinagar member of legislative assembly (MLA) Siddharth Shirole have initiated a public engagement drive for the proposed Balbharati-Paud Phata (BBPP) Link Road even as Environsafe, the consultant appointed by the civic body, has claimed that 72% of the 18,000 citizens surveyed in the past few days have responded in favour of the road.

The PMC estimate committee has already approved Rs252 crores for the proposed BBPP Link Road and tenders will be floated in a few days for the same. (HT PHOTO)
The PMC estimate committee has already approved Rs252 crores for the proposed BBPP Link Road and tenders will be floated in a few days for the same. (HT PHOTO)

The PMC estimate committee has already approved Rs252 crores for the proposed BBPP Link Road and tenders will be floated in a few days for the same. Despite facing stiff opposition from a section of the residents, the road has reached the bidding process, Shirole said. “So, we have decided to find out the opinion of citizens, commuters and other stakeholders,” he said.

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“We are planning to talk to commuters who regularly travel on this route. We will also get to know the perspective of people who regularly visit the hill. The purpose is to sensitise the people,” Shirole said.

A walk has been arranged Tuesday evening to engage with citizens and get their feedback. “I invite those who are interested in learning more about the BBPP Link Road, or have questions, concerns and other solutions to join us on the walk. We will start at 5:30 pm tomorrow (Tuesday, March 28, 2023) from Balbharati on S B Road, Pune,” Shirole tweeted on Monday. Former mayor Murlidhar Mohol and PMC officials are expected to participate in the walk along with Shirole.

At the same time, Environsafe has shared the findings of the surveys conducted in the past few days seeking the citizens’ feedback to the proposed BBPP Link Road. According to the PMC-appointed consultant, most of the citizens surveyed have expressed willingness to use the proposed road once it is ready.

Nagesh Chitar, who leads Environsafe, said, “We had conducted an origin destination (OD) survey last year to get a sense of commuters. We found that more than 70% of the 10,000 participants are regularly using Law College Road.”

“At the same time, we also conducted another survey recently in which we asked commuters their opinion about the BBPP Link Road, need for the road, whether it’s going to be helpful, the frequency with which they are using the stretch, and whether they want the road. Around 18,000 people participated in the survey and more than 72% shared a positive response about the road. We have all the details of the commuters who participated in the survey,” Chitar said. The findings of the Environsafe survey were discussed at a meet held by the PMC on Sunday at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

However, the residents opposing the road and environmental activists have questioned what they call the ‘selective sharing’ of the survey findings and Environsafe’s timing to share the findings.

Sushma Date, member, Deccan Gymkhana Parisar Samiti, said, “We did not get an official invitation from the PMC but some of our members still participated in the ‘open discussion’ where they revealed the findings of the study. There are enough indications that most residents do not want this road. The road is not the solution to the traffic problem. The PMC is developing a metro network to encourage the use of public transport. If as the PMC says, traffic congestion has gone down at the Nal Stop flyover, why does the corporation want the BBPP Link Road. There is very little traffic on Law College Road.” Date alleged that the PMC is only showing that people are in favour of the road because it has decided to go ahead with the project. “Now the PMC has arranged a walk. We are going to participate in the walk wearing yellow ribbons as a sign of resistance,” she said.

Meanwhile, civic officials claimed that some people are misguiding the residents and spreading misinformation about the proposed road.

Nikhil Mijar, traffic planner, PMC, said, “Most people don’t have adequate information about the project. In the recently concluded open discussion on Sunday, we attempted to clear their doubts. We came to know that some people are claiming that 33% of the hill will be affected by the project. But that is not the case. The road is not going through forest land and only 1.5% of the hill will be used for the road.”

“After ground bores and geotechnical investigations, it has been proved that no ground water aquifers have been affected. It has been proven by a traffic study that almost 60% of traffic from Law College Road will shift to this road to avoid junctions and delays,” Mijar said.

V G Kulkarni, chief - road department, PMC, said, “We are providing information to citizens to understand the importance of the project. We had also called opinion polls but the environmentalists objected. People still gave positive responses during the survey.”

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