At a time when the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and government machinery are struggling to acquire land for various projects, the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) and PMC have floated at least two proposals to lease out 20 acres of prime land in the heart of the city.
Recently, the metropolitan commissioner floated a tender to lease out 17 acres of land at Wakdewadi which is part of a government dairy. The land is located on the old Pune-Mumbai highway and is in front of the existing Maharashtra State Regional Tourism Corporation (MSRTC) bus stand at Wakdewadi. Although the land is owned by the Maharashtra government and falls in the PMC limit, the PMRDA floated the tender for it and planned to auction it at a cost of ₹397.50 crore. Meanwhile, the PMC served notice to Katraj Dairy to hand over the playground adjacent to its boundary.
NCP city unit president Prashant Jagtap said, “This is prime land. Ideally, it is owned by the government so why is PMRDA floating tenders for it. With the PMC requiring land for various purposes, the PMRDA should reserve the land for the PMC instead of selling it to someone. The existing proposal is in the interest of the private builder.”
The Congress party, too, opposed changing the Katraj Dairy land reservation. BJP leader Ujwal Keskar said, “Both the lands are related to the dairy. Ideally, the PMC should ask Katraj Dairy to acquire the Wakdewadi land for its own purpose, and keep the existing Katraj land for the playground. It would then be a win-win situation for all with Katraj Dairy getting the land at Wakdewadi, the Wakdewadi land not going to the private builder, and the PMC being able to maintain a playground at the Katraj plot.”
{{/usCountry}}The Congress party, too, opposed changing the Katraj Dairy land reservation. BJP leader Ujwal Keskar said, “Both the lands are related to the dairy. Ideally, the PMC should ask Katraj Dairy to acquire the Wakdewadi land for its own purpose, and keep the existing Katraj land for the playground. It would then be a win-win situation for all with Katraj Dairy getting the land at Wakdewadi, the Wakdewadi land not going to the private builder, and the PMC being able to maintain a playground at the Katraj plot.”
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