Urban News

Even as the proposed Development Plan (DP) for the 23 merged villages in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is set to be approved in a month and the government is considering to allow construction in the proposed Biodiversity Park, MLC Vandana Chavan is planning to write to Chief Minister Ashok Chavan not to change the mandate of the people and the civic body that had approved the DP in 2005. The draft DP has recommended reservation of 1,600 hectares for the biodiversity park, for which the PMC will have to acquire 978 hectares and pay compensation to owners.

“The government has to honour the people’s mandate as well as that of the civic body which passed the plan. If they have to make changes, the law calls for the plan to be put forth again in the public domain as it comes under “substantial modification,” the MLC said.

She said she was supposed to meet Chavan on the matter but the meeting was postponed. Now, with the developments of construction activity in the proposed park coming up, she has decided to write to Chavan before it is cleared.

Urban Development Department Principal Secretary T C Benjamin had said last week they were likely to allow constructions in the proposed park and cited reasons such as illegal constructions in the area as well as the huge compensation amount to be shelled out by the PMC. Vandana said both the reasons were misleading. 

“According to the law, the officer concerned is responsible for checking illegal constructions. If the PMC officers are unable to prevent such constructions, they have to face the consequences, which can even be imprisonment.”

The existing rules mention four per cent of construction activity in the area and so the estimated figure of Rs 3,000 crore does not match the actual figure. “We are not against compensation but it has to be assessed properly for the number of constructions.”

Benjamin had maintained that it would be practically impossible for the PMC to monitor such a huge area and they were planning limited development without affecting the environment. “Look at Parvati Hill that gave way to slums. Only private entrants can retain the place and it could be by way of independent bungalows or even farmhouses,” he had said, noting that this would mean the plan would have to be put before the people for suggestions and objections. Planner and activist Anita Benninger said it was another way of delaying the matter. “If they call again for suggestions, it would go up to lakhs of objections.”

On compensation, she said with only four per cent construction allowed for public utilities, the PMC would have to bear the compensation amount for just 40 hectares, which is four per cent of 978 hectares. “And the compensation amount would be about Rs 120 crore, to be disbursed in 10 years.”