Journalism of Courage
Corporators want it stopped,Mayor alleges ulterior motives behind demand
Adding to the rising political temperature in Pimpri-Chinchwad ahead of civic polls,a new controversy has erupted over the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation converting industrial land for residential use,also called the I-to-R policy.
Corporators,trading charges with Mayor Yogesh Behl,said the brisk pace of conversion would erode industries. The mayors office,on the other hand,made serious allegations against the City Improvement Committee,accusing it of trying to make money from the policy.
At the centre of the controversy is 121 acres of industrial land (4.20 lakh sq metres) at 17 spots that have been converted by PCMC into residential plots in the last five years.
Under a state government policy,builders are supposed to pay a premium for the conversion and return 10 per cent of the land for amenity space. Corporators allege that builders returned only 153 sq metres of the around 42,000 sq metres. R S Kumar,president of PCMCs City Improvements Committee,said,Where is the rest?
At Saturdays general body meeting,Behl was at loggersheads with Kumar,Yashwant Bhosale and Ramadhar Dhariya. All the four belong to NCP that rules PCMC. They were joined by Shiv Senas Shrirang Barne,Seema Salve,Sulbha Ubale and independent corporator Maruti Bhapkar. Kumar and others demanded that the conversion policy be stopped forthwith as it would lead to closure of industries in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Bhosale accused the mayor of siding with builders. The mayor pointed out that it was a state government policy that PCMC was bound to implement. The mayor adjourned the meeting amid uproarious scenes and kept the issue in abeyance for three months
Speaking to this paper on Sunday,the mayor alleged that some members of City Improvements Committee were demanding money. I am not saying this…My office has received complaints that members of the Committee were demanding Rs 10 lakh each from industrialists seeking to convert industrial land for residential purpose. There should be an investigation or else the committee should come clean on this, he said. The mayors office said the Committee was using pressure tactics to make industrialists pay up.
Kumar,a former mayor,rubbished the allegations. He said the Committee genuinely felt that if industries are allowed to convert land like this,there would be no industries left in the area. He said,Already 120 acres have been converted and there are several proposals pending. Industries provide over Rs 700 crore annual octroi for PCMCs budget of Rs 1,000 crore. If industries close down,how will PCMC implement development projects or provide basic amenities? The industrial belt of Pimpri-Chinchwad has over 5,000 small and big industries including the likes of Tata Motors,Bajaj Auto,Thermax,Force Motors and Century Enka.
Shiv Sena corporator Seema Savle said that through an RTI application she made,it has come to light that builders have not even paid the premium required for conversion. We have demanded a probe,but PCMC is sitting on it, she said. Salve said a political activist from Chinchwad has approached the court seeking a stay on the policy.
This is the second major ruckus in Pimpri-Chinchwad in a fortnight. Earlier,MLAs Vilas Lande and Laxman Jagtap,Mayor Yogesh Behl and Sena leader Shrirang Barne had drawn public attention by trading allegations.
