The Bombay High Court has directed the Pune district collector to acquire two land patches 150 metres and 50 metres along the Baner-Pashan Link Road (BPLR) within two months. Following this, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been given four additional months to complete the construction of the remaining 200-metre stretch of the 1.2-km long road. The court order came in response to a public interest litigation filed by the BPLR Welfare Trust, which highlighted the decades-long delay in completing the road despite its inclusion in the development plan back in 1992. The PMC lawyer informed the court that land acquisition proposals had already been submitted and joint measurements were conducted.
The BPLR road, critical for easing traffic between Baner, Balewadi, Pashan, and Aundh, has remained incomplete for over 30 years due to missing land patches, leaving the 1km built stretch underutilized. Residents, who have witnessed rapid urbanization in the area, have expressed frustration over the civic body’s inaction and poor planning. With the High Court’s latest timeline, the road construction is expected to be completed by Diwali this year, finally offering long-awaited relief to thousands of daily commuters relying on this link between key parts of west and south Pune.