Chikhli demolitions: PCMC official denies allegations of taking bribes to allow constructions

On May 17, the PCMC had flattened as many as 36 structures which fell within the blue floodline of the Indrayani river. First the National Green Tribunal had termed them as illegal and later the Supreme Court also upheld the NGT ruling.

Armed with the SC order, the PCMC demolished all the structures on the same day itself. The action triggered angry reactions from citizens and activists who said the PCMC could have waited till the monsoon got over. Activists said the Supreme Court had not given the PCMC 6 months to remove the structures, and they need not have razed them before the end of monsoons. The PCMC also drew flak as the affected residents wanted to file a curative petition in the Supreme Court, however, PCMC razed the structures.

The day the structures were razed, residents told the media that they had carried on with their construction as PCMC officials gave them the green signal after taking money from them. Shirsat was specifically named as one who took Rs one lakh or more from them. The residents said they paid the money in cash. And after they paid the money, they were allowed to continue with the construction.

Shirsat said that the residents were targeting him as he had served them notices as the beat inspector and told them that they could not continue with the construction. ”As the beat marshal, I had served notices to them. I had told them that they should stop the construction activity. Maybe because of this, they were against me and are targeting me,” he said. ”Now I am a junior engineer but in 2022 I was the beat marshal of the area. I worked there for 18 months,” he said.

Shirsat said he had informed his senior officials about the illegal construction activity near the Indrayani river. ”It was the duty of the senior officials to act…I have no clue why they did not act,” he said.

Shirsat said when he took charge as the beat inspector, 22 flats had already been constructed. ”If 22 flats had already been constructed, how can they accuse me of taking money from each one of them…There is no truth in what they are saying. They are trying to target PCMC and me so that they could get some sympathy,” he said.

When contacted, Asif Shaikh, one of the affected residents of Chikhli, said,”Shirsat is lying. We all paid him money. He insisted that we should pay him or else he would not allow construction to go ahead. We have also learnt that he bought a piece of land from the money collected from us. The PCMC should conduct a probe against him. Despite his name cropping up, why is the PCMC commissioner silent? Why is he not taking any action?”

When he was asked about the allegations made by residents, Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh said,”The residents should submit to me the names of the officials who took the money. This is a very serious matter. I will initiate strict action against those responsible. I will suspend them, order a departmental probe and even arrest them if they are found guilty. I will not tolerate this kind of behaviour by our officials.”

Shirsat is currently under suspension by the PCMC as the civic administration is investigating allegations of him selling seized machines. ”I was suspended 18 months back. The probe against me just got over. I have submitted all proof that I was not involved in any illegal activity of selling the seized equipment,” he said.

Activist Avinash Chilekar said,”The issue that PCMC officials take money for allowing illegal construction to carry on has come forward for the first time. The municipal commissioner should initiate a probe into this. He will come to know how the illegal structures are coming up everywhere in the city. If he sends a few officials to jail, the issue of illegal constructions will permanently end in Pimpri-Chinchwad. But I doubt the PCMC chief will take strict action…They only took strict action against the hapless residents when the system had actually failed them.”

Meanwhile, the residents said the developer, Manoj Jare, has approached them and told them that he would compensate for the loss suffered by the residents. ”We have held a couple of meetings with the builder. He said those who owned two gunthas of land will get 2 bhk flat in his new scheme and those who owned one guntha land will get one bhk flat. So far, we have not agreed to anything. The discussions are still going on. We are going to make him sign an affidavit if we reach an agreement,” said Asif Shaikh.