The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) will be diverting the route of the Pune Metro due to the rejection of its current route by National Monuments Authority which refused to permit its current route, Metro Rail News has reported. Its current route was in the vicinity of Aga Khan Palace which is a protected monument.
The diversion will now increase the cost of the Pune Metro project by Rs 185 crores. In a communication to Pune Metro, the MMRC suggested three options out of which it recommended the second option. This involves diversion of the route from Gunjan Chowk and an increase of the length of viaduct by 0.92 km.
As per the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958, no construction is allowed within a 100-metre radius of a protected monument. The Aga Khan Palace was declared as a nationally protected monument in the year 2003.