Road-widening SOP in development in Pune

06 Feb 2024 CW Team

Citizens and tree activists are in the process of drafting a standard operating procedure aimed at ensuring environmentally sustainable practices during the widening of roads bordered by trees.

Advocate Rajendra Kumar, helping citizens in drafting the standard operating procedure (SOP), said, ?Development projects in Pune, particularly road widening and Metro construction, have led to significant felling of trees.

This has sparked disputes among the urban local authority, planning authority and concerned citizens, alarmed by the diminishing green cover. There is a lack of understanding among both citizens and officials despite laws for sustainable development existing.?

Kumar said the local urban body lacked a standardised systematic approach to execute development works, resulting in potential damage to urban ecology.

Advocate Manasi Thakare, also involved in drafting the SOP, said, ?It is being developed following international standards, specifically the global standard ISO 9001:2015.? She said: ?This approach includes identifying some key elements like sources of inputs (government authorities), activities (tree felling in this case), outputs [widening roads sustainably as per Indian Road Congress guidelines] and the receivers of outputs (citizens), among other things. Each of these elements requires ?control and check points?, which are currently lacking.?

Infrastructure Transport

06 Feb 2026

Second Mountain Tunnel Breakthrough in Palghar Advances High Speed Rail

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail (MAHSR) project reached a milestone with the breakthrough of a mountain tunnel in Palghar, Maharashtra. Mountain tunnel MT-six measures 454 metres long and 14.4 metres wide and will accommodate up and down tracks. The breakthrough follows MT-five near Saphale on second January 2026 and the MT-six excavation was completed from both ends using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method. The ministry reported that the tunnelling was completed within 12 months. The New Austrian Tunnelling Method is favoured for its flexibility in complex geology and irregular tunnel s..

Modi Government Pushes Atmanirbhar Container Drive With BCSL MoU

The Union Government advanced a plan to create an integrated, domestically anchored container ecosystem with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Bharat Container Shipping Line (BCSL). The MoU was signed by key agencies including the Shipping Corporation of India and Container Corporation of India alongside major port authorities and Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, in the presence of senior ministers. The initiative aligns with the Container Manufacturing Assistance Scheme announced in the Union Budget 2026–2..

Ministry Reports Gains In Mobility For Marginalised Communities

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing skill development, education and rehabilitation schemes to promote socio-economic mobility and sustainable livelihoods for marginalised and disadvantaged communities across the country. Programmes target Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, Economically Weaker Sections, De-notified Tribes and Safai Karamcharis through specialised implementing corporations and empanelled training institutes. Pradhan Mantri Dakshata Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi Yojana, or PM-DAKSH, provided skill training and placement support through the Nati..