Pune: PMC’s city improvement committee (CIC) on Friday approved a proposal to extend Metro’s Swargate-Katraj line till Shivapur, and then further connect it to the outer ring road aligned from the same area. The proposal was taken up for discussion at the CIC meeting held at the civic body’s headquarters on Friday, and was approved unanimously.Committee chairman Smita Vaste said that the extension has been approved considering future development expected ahead of Katraj towards Pune-Kolhapur-Bengaluru highway up to Shivapur. Residential and commercial activities have already increased in the area since the last few years. “With state govt already constructing a ring road ahead of Shivapur, a plan has been proposed to connect the proposed Metro extension to the same,” she said.The proposal will be referred to Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) general body for further approval and is likely to come up for discussion in the upcoming meeting.Maha Metro has already started preliminary groundwork for a 5.5km-long Swargate-Katraj underground Metro line. Its completion will enable commuters to travel from Katraj, the city’s sourthern boundary, to Pimpri. Five underground stations have been proposed on this route.When asked by TOI, Maha Metro officials said they have not received any formal communication on the extension till Shivapur. The Maha Metro will take up the proposal for a detailed study after receiving an official letter from PMC.Meanwhile, regular commuters on the Katraj route pointed out that groundwork of the Katraj Metro line has already been delayed. One such commuter said, “The project was sanctioned last year but there is no visible progress yet. The authorities should simultaneously start work on all proposed routes to avoid administrative delays.”
