Pune: The PMC has decided to restrict and limit the concreting of city roads between 6 and 12 metres in width, while completely curbing such concreting on roads below 6m in width henceforth. The move was made with an aim to bring down rampant road concreting, a day after major waterlogging was witnessed in the city following a heavy unseasonal downpour.Urban planners supported the idea, pointing out that unnecessary and unscientific concreting of roads is increasing the probability of flash floods in the city.“The new policy will ensure that small roads are not built using concrete. It will also be mandatory to complete all utility lines and drainage lines before building bigger concrete roads,” said Naval Kishore Ram, commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).Commuters and civic activists also highlighted that PMC should provide a long-lasting solution to bumpy rides on roads, while also making sure that they remain environment-friendly. Although concreting is promoted for long-term durability of roads compared to tarring, the works need to be done considering other requirements and surroundings, said citizens.Civic activist Vijay Kumbhar alleged, “Road concreting is promoted by local politicos for their vested interests. Many elected members get these roads concreted roads as a popular measure. It should be avoided. Bylanes and small roads in particular should not be unnecessarily concreted.”Ashwini Pathak, a resident of Satara Road, told TOI, “Even when roads are concreted in our areas, waterlogging and stagnation persist every monsoon. Concrete roads should help prevent issues like waterlogging and potholes. But this is not the case on ground.”BJP member Sandip Khardekar, also an activist from Creative Foundation, said road concreting is unscientific and haphazard these days. “Housing societies and residents near Karvenagar have been suffering for the last few years due to waterlogging. Works like laying pipelines should be carried out properly before laying concrete over roads. Half-done works ultimately lead to major flash-flooding,” he said.Civic data shows that PMC has a road network of 2,273km, of which key roads are spread over 270km. PMC has a budgetary allocation of Rs1,505 crore for roads and related infrastructure for the financial year 2026-27.
