How Sharma administration fell flat on its face

After the Phugewadi incident relating to an illegal construction which embarrassed the PCMC administration no end...

After the Phugewadi incident relating to an illegal construction which embarrassed the PCMC administration no end,yet another alleged illegal construction has shown the Asheesh Sharma-led civic administration in poor light. This one relates to a mobile shoppe constructed near Sai chowk in Pimpri.

The civic general body meeting presided over by Mayor Aparna Doke witnessed ruckus last week after Pimpri’s Congress corporator Amar Moolchandani raised the issue in the house. Corporators cutting across party lines backed Moolchandani and demanded action against the what they described as an “illegal construction.” Mayor Doke asked the civic administration to forthwith demolish the structure. Soon the civic demolition machinery landed on the scene,but it did little. Next day,when it decided to act the owner waved a stay order from the court. The civic action again ground to a halt,instantly.

But the question civic activists asking are: “What was the civic administration doing all the while when the shop was being constructed? And especially when the administration knew that it was an illegal construction and it had also issued a notice to the owner to that effect.” The notice was apparently issued in December last year. PCMC executive engineer Deepak Thube said they demolished a wall of the shop before the owner came up with the court order. “The court has given a stay on the action,” Thube said.

This is the second time in two months the Sharma administration has been found on a sticky wicket. Earlier,Padmini Patole,resident of Phugewadi,had to move the Bombay high court to get an illegal construction demolished. The illegal construction had come up on a piece of land reserved for a school in the civic development plan. In both,Pimpri and Phugewadi cases,one thing is common. The alleged illegal construction were allowed to come up even as the officials choose to look the other way. Shockingly,in Phugewadi case the illegal construction thrived for a good ten years before a high court order brought it down to earth. “Why can’t the action be taken when the constructions are coming up? Why do the officials sleep when illegal constructions are taking place?,” asks D G Baliga,a civic activist from Pimpri. Baliga says even in Pimprigaon,an illegal construction is currently coming up at a rapid pace but the Sharma administration is doing nothing. “In Pimpri,you will find several illegal constructions. If the civic administration does not act decisively,Pimpri will soon have no space to put to walk,” he says.

Civic activists say the municipal commissioner’s problem is that he shows sincereity in his work,but his team is always found floundering. “Sharma needs officers who will keep him updated about what is going on in town. Unfortunately,that is not happening. The commissioner himself needs to be alert in hammering down illegal constructions,” activists says.

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