The Pune civic body has finally decided to appoint a contractor to construct the 200-metre incomplete stretch of the 1.2-km-long Baner-Pashan link road, crucial for providing road connectivity to around 2.5 lakh people between Baner, Balewadi and Pashan.

The road was sanctioned in 1992 and construction began in 2014 but the stretch in question was not constructed as land couldn’t be acquired for the 200-metre stretch.

Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said, “The PMC has decided to complete 12 of the 33 identified missing links, including the Baner-Pashan link road, this year. Budgetary provision for acquisition of land has been made.”

“The PMC has already deposited Rs 25 crore to the district land acquisition authority for acquiring 200 metre of the proposed road stretch on Baner-Pashan link road,” said Rajesh Bankar, chief engineer and in-charge of the civic roads department.

He said the land will be in possession of the PMC anytime now, so the civic administration, to avoid further delay, has decided to appoint an agency to construct the stretch.

In 2021, the Baner-Pashan Link Road Welfare Trust filed a petition seeking court direction to complete the incomplete portion of the road in a time-bound manner.

In August 2023, the court had directed the PMC to acquire land required to complete the link road and submit a timeline both for land acquisition and construction.

However, the PMC could not do so and was pulled up for delaying the work. The court had directed the PMC to take appropriate steps and complete the construction within the shortest possible time.

The Bombay High Court in April last year ordered the acquisition of land for the road within the next two months and the PMC to complete construction in four months after land acquisition.