The Indian Express               23.12.2013

CM promises to regularise illegal structures, PCMC chief says demolition drive will go on

Even as Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday announced that his government will in a month take a policy decision on regularising illegal structures in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, Municipal Commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi Saturday said his administration would continue with the demolition drive till the new Act comes into force.

"The demolition drive will continue till the state government enacts a law regularsing the structures," said Pardeshi who will come face-to-face with the Chief Minister who will be at Pimpri-Chinchwad for a function on Sunday.

The chief minister was responding to the issue which was raised by MLAs from Pune. Chavan also held a meeting in the Speaker's cabin with four Pune MLAs who have resigned over the issue. He requested them to take back their resignation since the government has decided to regularise illegal structures.

"The CM said the government will take a policy decision in a month's time and then during the budget session introduce a bill to regularise the structures," said Laxman Jagtap, an associate MLA pf NCP who had resigned in protest against the delay.

Jagtap said the decision of the state government will benefit illegal structures across Maharashtra. "The government has decided to amend MRTP Act, Maharashtra Land Revenue Code and the Village Panchayat Act. Illegal structures in entire Maharashtra will benefit," said Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe.

But the PCMC does not seem to be in a mood to halt the drive. "Though the Chief Minister has made the announcement, we will wait for a written directive. Otherwise the drive against illegal structures will continue till the Act actually comes into existence," the PCMC chief said. For a good measure, Pardeshi added,"The demolition drive will not stop...We will continue to raze structures as per the directions of the Bombay High Court."

According to senior government officials, there are lakhs of illegal structures in Maharashtra. "Those structures where side margins have been extended are likely to be regularised. Structures that have come up on land reserved in development plan or in green belt cannot be regularised," officials said.

For a year and half, the issue of illegal constructions has been raging in the industrial town of Pimpri-Chinchwad where the Bombay High Court has directed that over a lakh illegal structures be demolished. The PCMC has so far demolished over 400 structures and has refused to buckle under pressure from politicians. The NCP rules Pimpri-Chinchwad where Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's writ runs.