50,000 suggestions, objections pour in for PCMC’s draft DP

”Most of the 50,000 submissions include objections by the citizens, activists and politicians to the reservations made by the DP Unit of the state government,” he added.

Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh said, ”Now that the suggestions and objections have been received, the state government will appoint a planning committee through the director of town planning. The objections and suggestions will be placed before the Planning Committee….The committee will take the final decision and intimate it to the citizens. The decisions are then placed before the general body of the civic administration. The general body then takes decision on the objections and changes suggested by the planning committee…”

The municipal commissioner said the general body has the right to accept or reject the changes or decisions taken by the planning committee. ”The general body has the final powers…After the general body takes the decision, it will go for approval before the state government,” the PCMC chief said.

Civic officials said currently, the general body is headed by the municipal commissioner. When asked about this, the PCMC chief said, ”GB will take the final decision…,” while refusing to comment further.

Officials said if the hearing is completed by the planning committee before the ensuing civic elections or before the Model Code of Conduct for civic polls comes into effect, the PCMC will get the opportunity to take a call on the planning committee decisions. ”If the process is not completed before the civic elections, then the new general body, which will have elected corporators, will take the final call,” officials said.

For last two months, citizens in Pimpri-Chinchwad have been protesting against the draft DP as it threatens to bring down their homes constructed years ago. The reservations in the draft DP have drawn severe criticism from political leaders, activists and citizens.

The reservations made by the DP Unit drew flak even from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who said under no circumstances will a slaughterhouse come up near the temple town of Alandi. A reservation for this facility has been made in the PCMC’s draft development plan.

Several other reservations like the plan for a bus depot and other facilities near Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar statue in Pimpri also drew criticism. Over 5,000 residents in Wakad, Thergaon and nearby areas have also protested the plan for a ring road which was to pass through their society premises. The ”wrong marking” of the floodline near the rivers also was debunked by activists.

Seema Sawale, former chairperson of the PCMC’s standing committee, who first raised the objections regarding the DP reservations for a slaughterhouse near Alandi, told The Indian Express, “The draft DP is in favour of the rich and is against the poor and the middle-class. We hope the CM will scrap it and take action against those who made objectionable reservations.”

The PCMC has been contending that it’s role was limited to making suggestions and conveying the needs of the city to the DP unit. ”The municipal commissioner or the civic administration is not involved where individual reservations are concerned. That is the prerogative of the DP Unit. The municipal commissioner’s responsbility is to ensure the needs of the city are properly reflected in the development plan and are conveyed to the DP Unit,” said a civic official.

After the slaughterhouse reservation came to light, the PCMC had to clarify that it had suggested to the DP unit to make reservation for a slaughterhouse but not near Alandi. ”The decision for reserving the plot of land for slaughterhouse near Alandi was taken by the DP Unit itself apparently after their own surveys,” said a PCMC official.

When asked whether the DP Unit had interacted with them before making reservations in the draft DP, Prasad Gaikwad, Deputy Director of Town Planning, said, ”We were not consulted neither informed about it. The DP Unit took the decisions after their own surveys…”

On Tuesday, despite repeated calls, chief of the DP Unit Anupama Kulkarni did not respond. Earlier, she had said the reservations in the draft DP were not final. ”There is a long process involved in preparing the final DP,” she had said.