PUNE: Pune municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade has ordered strict action against encroachments in the city, especially on land to be reserved for bio diversity parks.

Speaking with TOI after a meeting of civic department heads on Thursday, Zagade said, "Strict orders have been issued to ward officers and zonal commissioners to carry out persistent drives against encroachments. I have told the officers to demolish all illegal constructions on lands identified for bio diversity parks."

Zagade said the PMC was already initiating a drive against illegal advertisements and flex boards. "The PMC has a policy against illegal flex boards and hoardings. Orders have been issued to follow the guidelines in the policy," he said.

Meanwhile, the anti-encroachment squad of the Warje-Karvenagar ward office demolished about 3,000 sq ft of illegal construction, including a building, in the Warje bio diversity park area. Illegal constructions were also demolished in Bavdhan and Dhanori areas.

PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation on Thursday reviewed the ongoing infrastructure development projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and set deadlines for their completion.

Municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade convened a meeting of heads of department to review the ongoing projects. "We had to take stock of the situation before planning further projects under the mission. Detailed discussions were held on every project. We have also fixed deadlines for the completion of the projects," Zagade said. Directives have been given to speed up the process of land acquisition, he added.

"The PMC will submit new proposals under the JNNURM, but before that, we have to complete the ongoing projects. We are planning some new infrastructure projects," Zagade said.

The Union government had allocated Rs 5,482 crore in 2007-08 and Rs 6,866 crore in 2008-09 for JNNURM projects. Allocation of Rs 11,842 crore was proposed in the interim budget for 2009-10. With allocations increased by 87 per cent in this year's Union budget, the total funds sanctioned stand at Rs 12,887 crore. With this, Pune has received the maximum allocation of Rs 2,440.65 crore since 2005, when the JNNURM was launched.

"The PMC is also mulling over a new Pune-specific model for basic services for the urban poor (BSUP), considering the shortage of land for project implementation," Zagade said.

The government has already approved the PMC's proposal of constructing 40,000 dwelling units for slum-dwellers. However, the civic administration has not been able to acquire land for implementation of the project. "We are working on a model where more houses could be constructed on the land that is available," Zagade said.

The state's share in JNNURM funds is 20 per cent, the Central government bears 50 per cent of the project's cost, while the local self-government body, implementing the mission, bears the remaining 30 per cent.