Pune Patal Lok Tunnel: PMC Plans 31-km Underground Roads From Bhosari to Undri and Bhugaon to Erandwane

Pune, 15th November 2026: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has approved the appointment of consultants to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for a 31-km underground road network. The plan has two tunnels: a 23-km north-south link from Bhosari to Undri, and an 8-km link from Bhugaon to Erandwane.

The appointment was approved by Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram, Punekar News reported. The project is part of the “Patal Lok” underground roads idea announced by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

This is a planning study, not an approved construction project. No cost, funding model, toll or completion date has been announced.

Bhosari to Undri: the 23-km north-south tunnel

The longer tunnel would start at Bhosari on the Old Mumbai-Pune Highway and run south under Sangamwadi, the Dhobighat area of Pune Cantonment and Kondhwa, ending at Undri on the Solapur Highway bypass, PuneNow reported.

For daily commuters, this is the route that matters most. Today, a drive from Bhosari or Pimpri-Chinchwad to Kondhwa or Undri means crossing Nagar Road, Bund Garden Road, the Camp area and Golibar Maidan, or going around via the Katraj side. An underground road would bypass most of those junctions.

Both reports say this corridor could later be extended through Bopdev Ghat towards the proposed Purandar International Airport, with MahaMetro expected to work on that extension.

Bhugaon to Erandwane: a way around Dukkar Khind

The shorter 8-km tunnel would link the Ram river area in Bhugaon to DP Road in Erandwane, passing under the Dukkar Khind area. Dukkar Khind is the narrow gap on the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway near Chandni Chowk that slows traffic between Bavdhan, Bhugaon and Kothrud.

Residents of Bhugaon, Bhukum and the Pirangut road, who now drive through Chandni Chowk to reach Kothrud and Deccan, would gain a direct route if this tunnel is built.

How PMC picked these routes

According to Punekar News, PMC, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), PMRDA and the traffic police studied TomTom origin-destination data, Google and real-time traffic data, and the city’s Comprehensive Mobility Plan to find where trips start and end.

The alignments are meant to work with the High Capacity Mass Transit Route (HCMTR), the Inner Ring Road and the Outer Ring Road. An earlier proposal for a Yerawada to Katraj tunnel was found unviable.

Which agencies must approve the tunnels

The Bhosari-Undri tunnel crosses several jurisdictions. PuneNow reported that it needs approvals from PMC, PCMC, the Pune Cantonment Board and the Ministry of Defence. Defence land in Camp and Khadki has slowed several Pune road projects in the past.

The consultants will prepare feasibility studies and DPRs covering technical, financial, environmental and traffic aspects. The final routes may change after that.

A separate tunnel planned in the old city

PMC is also working on a four-lane underground road between Shaniwarwada and Saras Baug, to take pressure off Bajirao Road and Shivaji Road. The demand came from Kasba Peth MLA Hemant Rasane, Pune Pulse reported. A consultant is to be appointed for its DPR too.

For the city’s rail plans, see our explainer on the Pune Metro network and its lines, and PMC’s road digging deadline and HCMTR work.

What is still not clear

PMC has not named the consultants, said how long the DPR will take, or given a cost estimate. It is also not known whether the tunnels would be tolled or who would fund them. We will update this story when the DPR is submitted.

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