Pune Ring Road gets costlier by Rs 10,502 crore as Maharashtra’s bills pile up

With the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) failing to take up a key stretch of the Pune Ring Road on priority, the Maharashtra government has decided to spend an additional Rs 10,502 crore on the project by transferring the package to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), taking the total project cost to Rs 53,213.39 crore.

The revised expenditure comes amid mounting pressure on the state’s finances, with its outstanding public debt projected to reach Rs 11.02 lakh crore in 2026-27 and a revenue deficit of Rs 40,552 crore estimated for the year.

The Cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure, at its meeting on August 18, 2026, approved a revised administrative sanction of Rs 10,502 crore for civil works and land acquisition. The decision follows the transfer of a package originally assigned to the NHAI to the MSRDC.

In 2024, the state Cabinet had approved a cost escalation of Rs 20,375.21 crore, taking the project cost to Rs 42,711.03 crore. With the latest addition, the total outlay is expected to reach Rs 53,213.39 crore.

The government resolution states that the NHAI had not taken up the project on a priority basis. It also notes that the MSRDC is already incurring expenditure on land acquisition for the stretch and that completing the road is necessary to ensure the ring road serves its intended purpose.

“Since the NHAI did not take up the project on a priority basis, and currently MSRDC is incurring expenditure for land acquisition of this length, as well as considering the financial viability of the Pune Ring Road project and fulfilling the objective of the Ring Road, a decision was taken to undertake the land acquisition and construction work of the said project through the MSRDC in accordance with the configuration approved by the Central Government (NHAI),” the resolution states.

The Pune Ring Road comprises eastern and western stretches intended to ease traffic congestion in and around the city. The eastern stretch runs from Urse on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway to Solu on the Alandi-Markal road, and from Solu to Sortapwadi on the Pune-Solapur road.

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In September 2021, the 68.19-km eastern stretch was estimated to cost Rs 10,159.82 crore. In 2024, its length was revised to 72.335 km and its estimated cost increased to Rs 19,932.98 crore.

The western stretch runs from Urse on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway to Varve Budruk on the Pune-Satara road. Its estimated cost rose from Rs 12,176 crore in September 2021 to Rs 22,778.05 crore in 2024.

The latest decision also involves a stretch shared by the proposed Pune-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Greenfield Expressway and the eastern ring road. The alignment proposed by the NHAI intersects the eastern ring road at Valti village near Sortapwadi and terminates near Shivare village on National Highway 48. The two projects share a common stretch of 31.805 km.

The state has cited the need to complete land acquisition and construction in line with the configuration approved by the Centre as a reason for transferring the work to the MSRDC.

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The additional expenditure comes as the government faces competing financial commitments, including the Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme, under which eligible women receive Rs 1,500 per month, the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar farm loan waiver scheme and recently announced assistance of Rs 5,000 per farmer in 304 of the state’s 358 tehsils, where a drought-like situation has been declared.

For 2026-27, the state has estimated its fiscal deficit at Rs 1,50,491 crore, or 2.8 per cent of its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), while the revenue deficit is projected at 0.7 per cent of GSDP.