On PCMC terrain, encroachers take over 25-year-old garden

They fetch water from a public tap in the nearby slum that has been in existence for three decades. From Nashik Phata chowk to Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT), hutments present a sore sight.

Last year, the PCMC had declared that the industrial town will rid of slums in three years. But a new slum is springing up.

“On the face of it, it looks like encroachers are temporary dwellers. But you can’t say anything about such people. Once they set up huts, it is difficult to evict them,” said J Kariya, a local activist. “Even if they are temporary dwellers, PCMC should not allow them to stay there as it becomes a nuisance for other residents.”

Jayshree Marale, former principal of a PCMC-run school, said on both sides of the Pune-Nashik highway, saplings were planted by children from Kasarwadi school. “About 25 years ago, children from the local school planted saplings that have now turned into fully grown trees. The students regularly watered the plants before the civic administration took up the job. It was like a garden for the children who spent hours there,” she recalls. The civic administration, she said, should not allow it to be encroached upon.

When contacted, PCMC assistant municipal commissioner Sudhir Joshi said it was the responsibility of the respective divisional heads to ensure no new slum came up in their area. PCMC ‘C’ division head R D Gaikwad said it was executive engineer Vithal Mahadik’s job to remove encroachers.

Mahadik said he had not seen the new slum, but hastened to add that the Pune-Nashik highway is looked after by executive engineer Rajan Patil.

When contacted, Patil said the land comes under the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. “I will contact MIDC officials and we will take joint action against the encroachers,” he said.