CSN–Pune highway project fails to gain momentum

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The renovation of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar–Pune highway has stalled. In October 2024, the state government decided to transfer the project to the Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation (MSIDC) and upgrade the road to national highway standards. The project, estimated at around ₹25,000 crore, includes land acquisition. However, no progress has been made in the past 15 months. In November 2025, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting regarding the existing road repairs and land acquisition for the new highway, but no further decisions have followed.

The project proposes six lanes for the 53 km Pune–Shirur stretch at a cost of ₹7,515 crore. The Shirur–Ahilyanagar–Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar route is also set for improvement under a ₹9,000-crore project, funded 30 per cent (₹2,254 crore) through institutional loans and 70 pc (₹5,260 crore) via bank loans authorised by the government to MSIDC. The Ahilyanagar–Devgad section will cost around ₹410 crore, with subsequent work estimated at ₹600 crore. Toll collection has been planned once the work is complete.

Currently, tolls are operational on the Shirur–Nagar–Devgad–Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar route. After toll collection ends in December 2029 and January 2037, the road will revert to the Public Works Department (PWD), with the Nagar–Devgad section being transferred to the MSIDC. The Pune–Shirur section (₹7,515 crore) will be executed under a 30-year BOT arrangement with toll collection, following the 2008 toll policy.

Road surface in poor condition

The road between Kaygaon and Ahilyanagar is full of potholes. After the monsoon, the Nashik PWD carried out temporary repairs, but the patches are uneven. Approximately 20,000 vehicles use this route daily, which was last widened 25 years ago. Toll collection on the road will occur in two phases: December 2029 and January 2037.

Status update

“No progress has been made on land acquisition or other matters. The 40 km road section has been transferred to MSIDC, but carrying out toll collection at this stage is not practical. A letter was submitted to the CM in November 2025 regarding the existing road, and the situation remains the same,” said a senior MSIDC official.