Authority works — PMRDA
PMRDA GPR Survey for Long Routes Across the Pune Region
Long-route scans, bore-path checks and graded utility drawings for projects across the Pune Metropolitan Region, from Hinjewadi to Chakan.
Quick AnswerA PMRDA GPR survey maps the underground utilities along roads, pipelines and cable routes in the Pune Metropolitan Region, where records are thin and routes run long. Each service found by ground penetrating radar (GPR) or the locator carries a grade for how firmly it was established. The Hinjewadi or Chakan design team then knows which parts of the sheet to rely on. The grading follows subsurface utility engineering practice; read about SUE survey.
What makes a PMRDA utility survey different from a city job?
Scale and uncertainty: routes often run tens of kilometres through villages, highways and industrial belts with few recorded services. The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority was formed on 31 March 2015 and is headquartered at Aundh. Its area of roughly 7,250 sq km wraps around Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, taking in whole talukas such as Haveli, Mulshi and Maval and parts of others.
Inside that region sit fast-growing places like Hinjewadi, Chakan and Talegaon, each with its own mix of factory feeders, township pipes and village lines. The authority's best-known project is Metro Line 3 from Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar, built under a public–private partnership. It was inaugurated on 3 November 2026 and opened to passengers the next day.
Which route types do we see across the region?
Five broad kinds, and each carries a different risk.
| Stretch of route | What tends to go wrong | How we scan it |
|---|---|---|
| State highway shoulder | Fibre ducts and HT cables hugging the edge | Unbroken radar passes; every metal line traced |
| Village road | Water and power lines nobody recorded | Broader band, more points marked for pits |
| Industrial belt (Chakan, Hinjewadi) | Heavy feeders and the plants' own process lines | Closely spaced transverse passes; plot-holder drawings |
| Township internal road | Recent services, frequently shifted from the design | New scan plus an as-laid check |
| Stream or nala crossing | Deep mains, soft banks | Gridded pit zones and a drawn profile |
Table note: when levels and road features matter as much as the services, see when you need a topographic survey.
How do we check a trenchless crossing?
Launch pit, exit pit and the strip linking them are all gridded, and the services found go on a long section. The bore can then be routed with room to spare. Many regional OFC, water and gas lines cross highways, rail lines and streams by horizontal directional drilling. If the reamer meets a pipe missing from the records, either the pipe breaks or the bore wanders.
The group runs 18 HDD rigs elsewhere, so we know what a driller looks for. The PMRDA crossing sheet gives pit positions, the depth of each service met and a plain note on anything unconfirmed. The service page more about HDD route survey describes the deliverable in full.
How does the region's ground affect radar and drilling?
Hard basalt is common, and that cuts both ways. GPR is a geophysical method that sends short pulses of electromagnetic waves into the ground and maps the subsurface from the reflected signals. The region sits on the Deccan Trap, where dry murum and weathered rock let radar see deeper than clay does. Lines along highway shoulders therefore often show clearly. The drawback is shallow hard rock: services sit in shallow cuts, bores slow down, and drilling deeper under a main is not always possible.
Wet black cotton soil in river plains and valley floors is the hard case for radar. In those valleys the transverse passes move closer, and utility locating with the cable tool and trial pits carries more of the load. Pune's ground types are compared at details of GPR survey in Pune.
How are long routes organised?
In packages, each scanned, drawn and issued in turn, on one coordinate base. We agree package lengths with the design team and start where design pressure is highest. Each package brings a CAD and GIS layer, depths at every road, railway and stream crossing, and a grade on every line.
Once a route crosses into the Pune corporation area, PMC's rules take over; read PMC Pune utility survey rates and scope.
What should a regional project team send first?
The full route, the planned crossing points, any owner records and the design freeze dates. The crossing list sets the programme, because each highway, railway or stream under a bore becomes a small survey of its own. Records from MSEDCL, gas, water or telecom owners help, however rough.
Village lines cause the most surprises. A farm pump cable or a gram panchayat water pipe can cross a highway shoulder with no record, and it is as damaging to hit as a trunk main. Our scanned band on village roads is therefore wider than in a city. Each doubtful crossing is marked for a trial pit before machines go in.
What does a PMRDA route survey cost?
Metre rates stay fixed, while the whole-order discount cuts the cost per kilometre on long routes.
- Standard radar scan: ₹24 per metre
- With L-section depth profile: ₹32 per metre
- Minimum order: ₹1,00,000 for any one project
- Whole-order discount: 25% above 100 km, 40% above 500 km, 50% above 1,000 km
- GST is extra
A 40 km L-section of a water transmission route is ₹12,80,000. For an OFC operator's 150 km network across Maval and Mulshi, ₹36,00,000 at base rate becomes ₹27,00,000 with 25% off. One of our team works from home in Pune, so the first PMRDA package starts within one working day of confirmation, often on the same day. The written quote shows any travel cost if it applies.
How is a long PMRDA route kept on one coordinate system?
With a chain of DGPS control points set before the radar starts, so kilometre 2 and kilometre 30 share one grid. Routes such as the Ring Road or a water line out to Chakan cross farmland, village gaothans and industrial plots, and old records rarely share a datum. Our surveyors set paired control points at intervals, and each of the buried utilities is reported with its chainage, offset and coordinates. Open country suits DGPS survey for regional routes. Near culverts, under trees and in village lanes, the team switches to a total station traverse between control points.
Who surveys PMRDA routes, and on whose orders?
Mezux Touch staff only, with company-owned equipment. We have worked since 2003, keep 58 GPR systems and hold ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 certificates. Our running total exceeds 1.5 lakh km, and our own people work every field shift. Work orders have come straight from PMRDA, and from the developers, EPC contractors, consultants and utility owners on construction projects in its region. For PMRDA utility mapping, enter your route file and planned start date in the quote form for Pune.
Frequently asked questions
Will Mezux Touch obtain RoW approvals as well?
We stick to surveying. Approvals along long routes are explained under more on RoW permission in Pune.
Can you scan a highway shoulder without closing lanes?
In most cases, with cones and a traffic marshal. Some stretches need a lane closure, which the permit holder arranges.
Is a 60 km route scanned in one go?
No. A ground penetrating radar survey of that length is split into packages, and each drawing is issued once its data collection is complete.
Can radar find a fibre duct?
Often, as a small hyperbola at shallow depth in the GPR data. Spare or empty ducts are harder; tracer wires and chamber checks help.
Do you work in townships and gated campuses?
Yes. Once the estate office agrees, internal roads and service corridors are scanned as well.
What if the bore path hits rock?
We show rock depth wherever the radar picks it up, so the utility maps also help the designer choose bore depth and tooling.
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Written by Saniya Parveen · Technically reviewed by Rahul Rai · Updated 8 November 2026