Indian Express 08.12.2009
750 wadas in bad shape, only 33 in for revamp
In June this year, the state Urban Development Department issued directions to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to give permission within 48 hours to wada tenants who want to carry out repair work and have applied for it. The directives were issued after a civic survey highlighted the dilapidated condition of 1,600 wadas. On its part, the PMC had issued notices to around 750 wada owners asking them to pull down the structures.
However, the PMC received only 33 applications for repairing the wadas in last six months. Reason: Most of the wada owners refused to co-operate with tenants who want to carry out the repairs. The wada owners instead want tenants to vacate the place, civic officials said.
There are a number of peth localities in the city, including Kasba Peth, Somwar Peth, Raviwar Peth and Nana Peth, housing about 10,000 wadas. As per the decision, wada tenants can forward an application for repair work to ward offices and permission for it has been promised within 48 hours, provided the necessary paperwork is in place. However, the tenants are not allowed to make structural changes.
An official from civic structural engineering section said, “We had expected more applications in the initial year. From Bhavani Peth, Kasba Peth and Vishrambaugwada areas, that house old wadas on a large-scale, we received 13 applications from tenants. From the Sahakarnagar area, 20 applications were received.”
He said, “Of 33 applications, we gave permission to carry out the repair work only to 14 tenants, as others did not furnish the necessary documents.” He said the low turnout is due to various reasons, the prominent being the differences between wada owners and tenants.
MLA Girish Bapat said, “The response of the wada tenants has been very cold. There are problems in its implementation. For example, if a tenant from the third floor wants to carry out a repair work, he needed to get consent from other wada members who might refuse. Secondly, the differences between the wada owners and tenants always remain. Thirdly, tenants are allowed only to make structural changes and not to increase the area of the wada, which is why tenants want to stay away from it.” Bapat called for an appointment of a special authority like that for slum rehabilitation.
Additional Commissioner Umakant Dangat said, “In most cases, wada owners do not share documents of the property with their tenants. Hence, the problem.”
