The idea is to ease the ever multiplying traffic pressures ``at least to some extent'' on Satara and Solapur highway stretches passing through the congested city areas.

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Public Works Department (PWD) officials on Monday resolved to expedite the work to improve the Katraj-Undri-Saswad and Phursungi-Hadapsar stretches as a primary effort. The meeting was convened by Pune Divisional Commissioner Rajeev Agrawal.

The diversion was mooted along with the 34 km Katraj-Dehu Road bypass as a part of an ambitious plan to decongest the city roads.

The jinxed easterly bypass faced major hurdles even before the MoST gave a nod to its alignment as the Ministry wanted the alignment to be redesigned for the encroachments dotting the planned road alignment.

The MoST now has asked the local PWD officials to explore the possibilities of undertaking the project on build-operate-transfer basis, a PWD official said while making the point that the much awaited easterly bypass was still to get MoST approval.

The Ministry clearing the alignment of the road has been a primary step and no fiscal provision has so far been made for the road, despite assurances in the past, it was stated. It may be recalled that MoST had agreed to provide Rs 32 crore needed for initial land acquisition.

Now the PMC-PWD proposal is targeting development of the Katraj-Undri-Saswad road where the PMC would widen the side strips of the road running through the Pune city limits.

The PMC has also agreed to improve the traffic conditions on Phursungi-Hadapsar stretch of the Saswad road, it was stated. The corporation would primarily shift some of the encroachments.

This, according to senior officials, is expected to tide over some of the heavy vehicles problem on the congested Swargate-Hadapasr stretch of the Solapur Road. The Phursungi-Hadapsar stretch, if improved would also cut travel time compared to the easterly bypass alignment which has now been approved by the MoST.

The first alignment of the bypass was drawn in 1976 while the road was realigned in 1990. Unauthorised structures encroaching the planned bypass corridor had necessitated the third alignment. The 23 km two-lane bypass was initially designed to be Rs 100 crore project.