The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to bear the bulk of the land purchase costs of the proposed 170km Pune ring road connecting highways that run through the city and divert heavy traffic out of the city.

NHAI has appealed to the government of Maharashtra that since the land purchase cost in Maharashtra is high, it will bear 80% of the land and the latter should share the remaining 10%.

Under the rule of the government of Maharashtra, owners will receive five times more compensation than the land costs for government projects. Under NHAI policy, land costs are capped four times.

Minister of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari said: "As the Pune ring road connects several highways including Satara Road, Solapur, Ahmednagar Road, Nashik Road and Pune-Mumbai Expressway, it will help the traffic from other cities reach the destination without going through the city of Pune.Although NHAI has decided to bear the cost of the land purchase for the Pune ring road project, the state has to bear the additional cost.”