Maharashtra govt secretly releases over 200 acres of farm land for construction

This despite the fact that the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MR&TP) Act makes it mandatory for a planning body to declare the intention of any modification in a statutory plan, including dezoning or de-reservation, in largely circulated newspapers, call for suggestions and objections from the public within a stipulated time-frame, give them a hearing and then declare the final decision.

Pune BJP corporator Ujawal Keskar stumbled upon this while working on his writ petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the original December notification.

On December 9, 1999, the Urban Development Department, through the then principal secretary Suresh Joshi, notified under Section 20 (3) of Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, its intention of dezoning several acres in the fringe villages merged with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in September 1997.

As many as 381 survey numbers in the fringe villages, which were in the category of agricultural, no-development, hill top and hill slope, public andsemi-public use in the Regional Plan, were proposed to be dezoned. The Government sought objections and suggestions from citizens.

The proposal raised eyebrows as the PMC was already in the process of preparing the development plan for the merged villages. Activists were up in arms, protesting against the move to dezone land on hill top and hill slopes as it was likely to lead to serious environmental imbalance.

Pune Municipal Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad even wrote a letter to the Urban Development Department on January 24, saying there was no need for the State Government to undertake this exercise as the PMC was already on the job.

Following protests from environmentalists and activists, the move to dezone hill area in 22 surveys was dropped. So the final notification should have listed 359 surveys but it lists as many as 411 surveys as those converted from agricultural to residential zone.

When asked how and why it happened, Under Secretary, Urban Development Department, A H Naik, who signed the final notification, said: “What notification are you talking about? I sign so many notifications in the name of the government and the Maharashtra Governor. I am not aware of what you are talking about.”

Principal Secretary of the department A P Sinha, when asked about the additions, said: “It is most unlikely. I am not aware. I’ll check.”

A comparative study of the two notifications — the first issued in December 1999 and the final one in August — reveals that the Urban Development Department made as many as 52 interpolations in the list of survey numbers of land released for construction activity. For these survey numbers, no objection or suggestion had ever been invited.

* The original notification, for instance, did not mention survey numbers 99 (part) and 100 (part) of Warje village as land proposed to be given residential zone status. But the two survey numbers are in the final notification.

* In Shivane village, located near the prestigious National Defence Academy(NDA), six survey numbers have been dezoned. These were not proposed to be released in the December ’99 notification.

* The same is the case of Kondhave Dhavade, another merged village near NDA. Here, according to the December ’99 notification, survey numbers 20 to 23 numbers 20 to 26 of Kondhave Dhavade have been dezoned, indicating that survey numbers 24 and 26 have been added to the list.

* In Lohegaon, close to the Sukhoi base of the IAF, six survey numbers — 272, 273, 274, 275, 289 and 290 — are now in the residential zone though these were not mentioned in the original notification.

* In the case of Undri, a south Pune suburb which of late is a hot favourite of developers and builders, the December ’99 notification proposed to convert into residential zone a portion of survey number 84. But in the final notification the entire survey number has been dezoned.

* The original notification proposed to convert into residential zone a part of survey number 228 of Sus village. The final notification says the whole of 228 has been dezoned.

* The village of Kharadi which never figured in the December ’99 notificationfinds place in the final notification with two survey numbers beingaccorded residential zone status.

Rough estimates peg the land additionally released for development in these 52 survey numbers at over 200 acres.