MSRDC Seeks Control Of 74 More Villages For Pune Ring Road

In October 2024, the Urban Development Department (UDD) had designated MSRDC as the planning authority for 117 villages across five talukas along the Pune Ring Road. Work on preparing the development plan (DP) for these villages is already underway. However, on 18 September 2025, MSRDC Managing Director Anil Kumar Gaikwad wrote to the UDD, seeking inclusion of additional villages.

The villages proposed for inclusion span across Haveli, Bhor, Purandar, Mulshi, and Rajgad talukas, including areas such as Kondhanpur, Kikvi, Nasrapur, Pirangut, and Malavali, among others.

Following the request, the UDD on 29 September asked the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) to share its opinion. A senior PMRDA official confirmed that its planning department is drafting its response. “We will convey our concerns soon. The decision could impact the overall development framework of the PMRDA region,” the official said.

The Pune Ring Road aims to ease traffic congestion across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. With tenders finalised and project formalities largely complete, MSRDC is moving swiftly with implementation. However, its latest demand has raised concerns over overlapping administrative powers and long-term regional planning conflicts within the Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR).

Currently, the 117 villages under MSRDC’s control are divided into three separate zones, making cohesive planning challenging. Some villages, such as Sangrun in Haveli and Kikvi in Bhor, remain disconnected from the main project area. Given that the Purandar International Airport is situated near the Ring Road, MSRDC has argued that the area must be developed in a coordinated manner. The Ring Road’s Sonori intersection in Purandar is also expected to handle airport-bound traffic. Local gram panchayats, including Deori, have formally requested inclusion in the plan.

If the proposal is approved, the area under MSRDC’s special planning zone would expand from 668 square kilometres to 1,062 square kilometres.

Civic activist Sudhir Kulkarni criticised the move, stating, “The state government has already authorised MSRDC to grant building permissions for 117 villages and now intends to add more. This undermines the very purpose of establishing the PMRDA. If this continues, the PMRDA will lose its relevance entirely.”

He added that PMRDA relies heavily on revenue generated through development charges from construction permissions. “If major villages near the Ring Road are transferred to MSRDC, all construction-related income will shift there, leaving PMRDA financially weakened,” he said.

The proposal has sparked a debate over planning authority, regional coordination, and revenue control, highlighting the growing tension between MSRDC’s infrastructure ambitions and PMRDA’s regional development mandate.