The Congress, which has been backing the Pune Metro project till now, has now shifted their stance and have expressed strong opposition to the proposed four Floor Space Indices (FSI) within 500 mt of the two proposed Metro corridors and BRT route, for generating funds for the metro rail project in the city, citing that it will lead to overcrowding.

The proposal asks for four FSI within 500 mt of the Metro corridors and 200 mt of the BRT corridors. However, according to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) report, the sale of four FSI along just half the length of the Metro corridor (1/2 of 31.5 km) will yield Rs 18,900 crores, while the cost of metro is expected to be much lesser.

Addressing media persons on Thursday, Congress leader and leader of opposition in the Pune Municipal Corporation Aba Bagul said that the hike in FSI will lead to overcrowding in these areas through vertical development of residential and commercial constructions. “The PMC will not be able to provide basic amenities like drinking water, solid waste management, sewage treatment to this spurt in population. It will be an injustice to the Pune residents and hence we oppose it,” Bagul said. He added that the current traffic situation is also bad and the four FSI will increase density leading to congestion.

As far as generating funds are concerned, Bagul suggested the PMC must look for subsidies from the Union government and other measures to generate income. In August 2008, for self-financing the project, the civic body had proposed to raise money for metro through additional FSI, which was welcomed by the state government.

... contd.