Pune: The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) is working to complete the remaining four stations — Sakalnagar, University, RBI and District Court — and obtain approval from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS), with the first 12 stations of Pune Metro Line 3 ready for inauguration.Sources said on Saturday that the safety clearance for the four stations is likely to be sought soon, as the required details are being uploaded. A formal inauguration date for the operational stretch is also expected to be announced shortly.“We are continuing work on the remaining stations, while some minor staircase-related work at the 12 completed stations is also underway before the final inauguration date is announced. Around 96.5% of the work has been completed so far,” a source said.The source added that the four remaining stations are being readied and their data will soon be uploaded for CMRS inspection. “Once approval is received, these stations will also be added to the operational section,” the source said.The first 13-km stretch from Maan to R K Laxman Museum (Balewadi), comprising 12 stations, received provisional authorisation from the CMRS on July 23 and is ready for operations. PMRDA officials had written to the chief minister’s office seeking an inauguration date but are yet to receive confirmation.Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said at a media interaction that he had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro Line 3. Fadnavis met Modi in Delhi on Aug 17 and extended the invitation. PM Modi has also been invited by NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar to Baramati for an event at Vidya Pratishthan sometime in mid-October.“Whether the Metro line will be inaugurated then or earlier will require a decision from the authorities,” said a senior official familiar with the matter, adding that no official schedule has been announced yet.Opposition leaders and IT forums have already criticised the delay. “For a formal inauguration, so many IT employees are being put to so much inconvenience. It is only a partial opening, so why wait for such fanfare?” said an IT professional from Baner who travels to Hinjewadi daily and faces significant commuting difficulties.The CMRS inspected the 13-km section from July 5 to 8. The provisional authorisation was issued after PMRDA and the project agency submitted compliance reports addressing observations raised during the inspection.The 23.3-km Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro project is being implemented by PMRDA through Pune IT City Metro Rail Ltd. It is the first Metro project in India being developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, with a Tata Group-Siemens joint venture executing the project.Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone for the project on Dec 8, 2018. The project has faced several delays, with its latest completion deadline extended to March 31, 2027. The remaining stations are expected to be opened in phases.The authorities had initially targeted the end of June to open the first phase, but CMRS clearance was granted only in July. Technical issues at the Baner and Shivajinagar stations had also contributed to delays in completing the remaining section.PMRDA had initially proposed making all 23 stations of Metro Line 3 operational by Dec 2026, even as it seeks to extend the concession agreement with Tata-Siemens until March 2027. The extension proposal, which has already been submitted to the state govt, is intended to provide additional time to complete residual civil works and other obligations.PMRDA officials had earlier said that while the concession period is proposed to be extended until March 2027, the concessionaire has been directed to complete and operationalise the entire 23-station corridor by Dec 2026.
