PIMPRI CHINCHWAD: The defence has sought the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s opinion about giving an equal area of alternative land in lieu of the defence land needed for constructing a road and a bridge across Mula for the convenience of Bopkhelvillagers.

Rajendra Pawar, the defence estate officer (DEO) of the Pune circle, said, “The proposal of constructing the bridge across Mula river is under active consideration of the Union defence ministry. There was a query from the higher authorities regarding it. So, a letter has been sent to the municipal commissioner to get his reply about the transfer of the land for constructing the road for the bridge and the latter’s location.”

He said, “The defence land is transferred for various purposes under the Defence Land Transfer Policy of 2015. If the body demanding land is a landholding body, it has to give an equal area of land in lieu of the defence land. If it is not, it must give the value of the defence land. The letter was sent to the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) according to it.”

The letter in possession of TOI shows that the DEO, Pune, had sent it on April 4. The PCMC received it on April 7.

The defence authorities calculated the value of the defence land needed for the bridge and the road project to be Rs25.81 crore. The PCMC has been requested to intimate the location of the bridge and the extent of land could be transferred to the defence in exchange or its comments on this issue.

Earlier, it was linked to the Pune-Mumbai highway at Dapodi through a 2.25km road passing through the defence land of CME. But it was closed in May 2015 on the directive of the high court for security reasons.