For elusive devp body,CM to hold panel meet

“There are several developmental issues of Pune,which have to be taken up at the meeting. I will schedule the meeting soon,” Chavan told Newsline on Thursday,admitting that there have been delays in both holding a meeting of the MPC and forming the PMRDA.

The Chief Minister had,in March,said he would chair the meeting after the Assembly session got over on April 23.

One issue that has to be tackled is the chairmanship of the PMRDA. When asked about it,Chavan steered clear of naming Ajit Pawar as the chairman. According to the guidelines of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act,1966,the guardian minister automatically takes up the mantle of chairperson of such a body. Asked about it,Chavan said,“I will have to study the issue.”

Ajit Pawar had,on Saturday,said the formation of PMRDA should be taken up only after deciding about the merger of Pimpri-Chinchwad New Township Development Authority (PCNTDA) with it. He had sought the merger to avoid duplication of governance.

It was in March that Pune divisional commissioner Dilip Band,who is also the chairman of PCNTDA,suggested that the body should take on the responsibility of forming the PMRDA. His proposal,which has been forwarded to the state government,lists out how the PCNTDA could help in generating the necessary capital over and above the seed capital offered by the government. The PCNTDA is a rich body with a Rs 400-crore corpus and a land bank of 1,000 hectares.

Town Planning deputy director Sadhana Naik said it was in the interest of the city that the PMRDA was formed at the earliest. “With a lot of haphazard constructions in fringe areas,a proper regulatory authority needs to be in place to monitor the city’s development.”

It is a two-way thing as no PMRDA also means no MPC meeting. “There has just been one meeting held in January last year after the election of 30 members. Since then,though agendas have been sent,there has been no meeting.”

The elected members of the MPC are also peeved at corporations taking decisions independently. “The metro rail decision will be taken up by the standing committee of PMC on May 19,but it has not come up before the MPC. The corporation seems to have forgotten this body,which was set up last year for the overall development of Pune,” one of its members said.