E-Paper
32 public gardens in Pune named after corporators’ kin
The PMC rules mandate that gardens can be named after national figures only or those working in the field of environment
PUNE Amid the ongoing controversy over renaming of the garden at Salisbury park by the local corporator after his father, it has come to light that there are at least 32 public gardens in the city named after locals, relatives or family members of elected representatives, according to the information available with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
The PMC rules mandate that gardens can be named after national figures only or those working in the field of environment. However, those public gardens that have private family names officially sanctioned have been approved by the naming committee of the PMC and not the garden department, said officials.
Among the gardens that are not named after national figures are Damodar Wagaskar Garden at Koregaon Park, Yashwantrao Tingre garden at Dhanori, Damodar Galande Patil garden at Kalyani nagar, Marutrao Gaikwad garden at Aundh, Prakash Bahirat garden at Gokhale nagar, and Gangubai Dhumal garden at Warje. Hindustan Times is in possession of the list of such gardens across the city.
Garden superintendent Ashok Ghorpade said, “There is a clear cut government resolution (GR) approved by the GB in 2000 which says that public gardens must be named after national personalities and noted environmentalists. Whenever such proposals of naming gardens after family members have been put forward, we have always quoted the GR and given recommendations based on the GR. It is the naming committee which decides the fate of all such proposals where our recommendations hardly matter.”
The issue of naming public spaces after private persons has been vociferously criticised by civil society after BJP corporator Srinath Bhimale named a PMC garden after his father, late professor Yashwantrao Bhimale, at Salisbury park, prompting citizen protests and social media campaigns. Citizens have been demanding that public spaces constructed out of citizens’ money must not be named after private personalities or family members connected to elected corporators. Bhimale however has repeatedly said that the garden was named after his late father as he worked to develop it.
A PMC GR of 2000 (there has been no amendment since then) has strictly stated that all public gardens can be named only after national leaders and prominent environmentalists. According to the PMC administration, the corporators move a private proposal for naming any public project which is signed by other corporators of their area before the municipal secretary and from there, the proposal is sent to the connected department for recommendation by their head of department (HOD).
All other departments don’t have any norms in place about naming a public project after a private person except the garden department. Whatever the recommendations of the HOD, the naming committee of the PMC takes the final call and gives its in-principle approval to what names are to be given to public projects.
Civic activist Vinita Deshmukh said that public spaces are being named after private persons in the neighbourhood. “Should not there be public consultation before the naming committee approves the names? Citizens must fight to be included in the naming committee. So brazen have these local politicians become that they can snatch public landmarks without batting an eyelid. That’s because the citizens have so far silently watched the privatisation of citizens’ spaces and amenities. Citizens must fight to be included in the naming committee,” she said.
