E-Paper
200 illegal structures over waterbodies await demolition in Pune
Illegal structures have come to light following the death of Nimit Ashok Aherwal (21), a resident of Sanaswadi, who was swept away by water overflowing in a nallah near Hotel Kaveri on the Pune-Ahmednagar road on Wednesday night
The issue of illegal structures constructed over different nallahs (canals) in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) regions, has come to light following the death of Nimit Ashok Aherwal (21), a resident of Sanaswadi, who was swept away by water overflowing in a nallah near Hotel Kaveri on the Pune-Ahmednagar road on Wednesday night.
Following the incident, residents of Wagholi have demanded strong action against PMRDA officials for failing to act against construction on nallahs in the area.
According to the PMRDA administration, there are 100 structures occupying space on natural waterbodies in the area, causing repeated flooding in Wagholi.
Apart from Katraj, Sahakarnagar, Bibvewadi and Dhankawdi, suburbs like Wagholi, Undri, Mohammadwadi, Ahmednagar road, Vishrantwadi, Phulenagar, Mundhwa, Hadapsar and Wanowrie areas have experienced flash floods in the past one year.
Citizen rights activist Vijay Kumbhar said, “We are waiting for another tragedy to happen. The builders in connivance with the politicians have brutally chopped off the hilltops, destroyed the environment and filled up nallahs and rivulets during the past one decade. The citizens are afraid to raise their voice against these illegalities. It is time Puneites take action against construction on waterbodies. Nallah encroachments in the suburbs and inaction by the respective civic bodies is the main reason behind intense waterlogging.”
Sanjeev Kumar Patil, director, Wagholi Housing Societies Association, said, “The PMRDA is guilty of misconduct and action needs to be taken against officials for not removing the illegal encroachments on the nallah. We want to make lives safe for all Wagholikars and also all commuters using the highway. There are a large number of encroachments on natural water bodies which need to be removed at the earliest to prevent flooding and flash floods in the area.”
Suhas Diwase, chief of PMRDA, said action will be taken against violators. District collector Rajesh Deshmukh said, “We have ordered an inquiry into the death and suitable action will be taken against the violators.”
Twenty-one-year Nimit Ashok Aherwal of Sanaswadi lost his life near hotel Kaveri on Ahmednagar road at 10 am on Wednesday. He was on way to drop his relative to railway station and when he saw overflowing water asked his relative to get down on bike. While he proceeded on bike, he was washed away.
Unchecked construction near water body
Development Control (DC) rules of the PMC prohibit construction within 20 metres of any water body. Even if the nallah flows through private land, the owner cannot construct on it. While the responsibility of keeping a check on such violations lies with the irrigation department, ward offices of the civic body are also empowered to act against offender.
The PMC had appointed a private firm, Pri-Move, which identified 77 structures alongside the Ambil odha which aggravated the floods last year. A separate committee of environmental activists and residents then prepared a report pointing to specific unauthorised constructions that contributed to the floods. Based on the Pri-Move report, the PMC served notices to all 77 unauthorised structures, but none have been demolished till date.
