PUNE:Pune, India - May 30, 2023: Work underway between Katraj and Kondhwa (Nadeem Inamdar story) in Pune, India, on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (Photo by Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)To expedite the long-delayed Katraj-Kondhwa road-widening project, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has warned of forcibly taking possession of the acquired land from owners refusing to hand it over. The civic body will also launch a drive to remove encroachments and unauthorised structures obstructing the road-widening work.The Katraj-Kondhwa road, an arterial road connecting Satara road and Solapur road, has for long been plagued by severe traffic congestion. The road-widening project, pending since many years, received fresh momentum after municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram made a substantial budgetary provision for land acquisition from the PMC funds, supplemented by financial assistance from the state government.Following declaration of the land acquisition award, the PMC’s land acquisition and property management department, headed by special land acquisition officer Shweta Darunkar, began taking possession of the acquired properties. Officials said that possession of most of the required land has already been secured.On Wednesday, additional municipal commissioner (special) Omprakash Divate, along with chief engineer (roads) Rajesh Bankar, Darunkar, and officials from the anti-encroachment department, carried out an inspection of the stretch from Rajs Society Chowk to Pisoli.After reviewing the bottlenecks affecting the project, the PMC has sounded a warning that property owners delaying handing over or refusing to hand over the acquired land will face coercive action, including police-assisted possession proceedings. Officials have also been instructed to remove unauthorised structures within the proposed road alignment. The road department has been instructed to immediately begin road-widening work on all available land parcels. The road department, land acquisition department and property management department have been asked to work in tandem to ensure speedy implementation of the project.