Union Budget 2024-25 Allocates Rs 814.4 Crore for Pune Metro Extension Project
Pune, 24th July 2024: The Union Budget for 2024-25 has allocated Rs 814.4 crore for Pune’s Metro project. Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha Metro) plans to use these funds to advance work on the extension between PCMC and Nigdi, and the proposed underground extension from Swargate to Katraj.
Civil work on the PCMC-Nigdi extension, a 4.5 km stretch featuring three stations, is already underway. Maha Metro officials aim to complete the bulk of this work within the next two and a half years.
Although Maha Metro has not yet received detailed allocations, they anticipate phased releases of the funds announced in the budget. “We had requested Rs 1,500 crore, which included Rs 200 crore for extension work and Rs 1,300 crore for the Ramwadi-Vanaz and PCMC-Swargate stretches. These two routes span approximately 33 km across Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. With most of the work on the Ramwadi-Vanaz route nearing completion, the new funds will be dedicated to the extensions. Currently, we have sufficient funds available,” explained a Maha Metro official.
Preliminary work, including soil testing and technical surveys, has begun for the Swargate-Katraj underground route, though final approval is still pending. Regular Metro users emphasize the need for prioritizing extension work.
Maha Metro, in collaboration with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), has been studying potential routes. Two proposals, Vanaz-Chandni Chowk and Ramwadi-Wagholi, are in advanced stages and have recently been submitted to the state government for approval, which in turn has forwarded them to the Centre for final approval.
