Action against 33 dilapidated wadas this year, redevelopment on the cards

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has taken action against a total of 33 dilapidated wada structures this year which is more in comparison to last year

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has taken action against a total of 33 dilapidated wada structures this year which is more in comparison to last year. In 2020, the PMC demolished only 12 structures due to lockdown restrictions. PMC officials observed that the dispute between developers and tenants is dropping due to the extra Floor Space Index (FSI) and 300 sq ft of free tenement. Therefore, the problem of dilapidated wadas will be resolved completely in the upcoming years.

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The wadas hold a unique characteristic and legacy of Pune, the structure is two to three storied tall and these old structures are mostly located in the heart of the city. Usually, they are square or rectangular in shape having a courtyard at the centre. During the rule of the Maratha dynasty, the wada culture was introduced in the Pune region.

As per statistics of the PMC, there were 1,204 wada structures existing in the city. However, the number has gone down due to cave-in incidents, PMC’s demolition drive and development by builders.

At present, there are only 330 wadas left in the city.

As per state government guidelines, PMC has categorised wada structures in three categories such as very dangerous (C-I), repair structure with vacating (C-II), repair structure without vacating (C-III).

According to the statistics of PMC, there are four structures in the class-I category. There are 211 wadas in the class-II and 115 in the class-III category.

All the remaining 330 wadas are located at Sukhrawar peth, Raviwar peth, Sadhashiv and Navi peth, Shaniwar peth, Narayan peth, Somwar peth, Mangalwar peth, Budhwar peth, Rastha peth, Bhavani peth, Ghorpade peth, Nana peth, Ganesh peth, Kasba peth, Guruwar peth, Mahatma phule peth.

Rajendra Raut, superintendent engineer of building permission and development department said, “Every year before beginning of monsoon, the PMC conducts a survey of dangerous structures which are mainly old buildings such as wadas in the city and issues notices to vacate them. If residents deny vacating the structure, we forcefully vacate them and demolish the structure. But it happens in very rare cases. Last year, we took special permission from the High Court to demolish dangerous structures and have demolished 12 such structures so far. Some are completely demolished, and some are partially demolished. The action was limited due to strict restriction of lock down.”

He further said, “This year, the number has increased, and it went to 33 as Covid restrictions are not so strict as compared to last year. Four structures were demolished completely and the remaining part of the wada structure was partially knocked down.”

Disputes lower; redevelopment gathers momentum

Disputes among owners, tenants and developers are the major hurdle in the development of wada structures in the city. To resolve the issue, the state government issued guidelines in 2015 to provide certificates to tenants to maintain their claim in property in wadas which are in dilapidated condition.

Sudhir Kadam, executive engineer of building permission and development department said, “The state government’s decision to issue certificate to tenants and PMCs offered to give extra floor Space Index (FSI) and 300 square feet tenements to wada tenants in 2017 Pune city’s development Plan (DP) opened new era of development of the long pending wada issue. There is another wada cluster policy pending at the state government level to boost the development of the wada. If approved, it will speed up the development of the wada in the heart of the city as most of the wadas are located in the heart of the city. Redevelopment of wadas is a key factor of development of the heart of the city as there is no open space available in these areas.”

He further said, “ From 2017, the redevelopment of wada structures has got momentum as builders are getting extra FSI as well as permission to develop some part of the structure for commercialpurposes. The wada structure problem will be sorted out in the coming four-five years.”

Nirmala Kolhe, owner of Gaikwadwada located at Rasta peth, said, “Due to extra FSI and free tenements to tenants helped us to develop our wada. The developer is happy with these new rules, and he undertook the redevelopment of our wada in 2017. The redevelopment of wada was pending for more than two decades. Now, it is almost solved. We are happy that every stakeholder is getting their share including tenants.”

Dilipidated wadas by the numbers

Type I

Total structures: 4

Action taken: 4

Action pending: 0

Type II

Total structures: 211

Action taken: 155

Action pending: 56

Type III

Total structures: 115

Action taken: NA

Action pending: NA

Total structures: 330

Action taken: 159

Action pending: 56

PMC identified 33 dangerous dilapidated wada structures

Name of area Number of structure

Kasba peth- 02

Shaniwar peth- 06

Narayan peth- 03

Bhavani peth- 04

Budhwar peth- 02

Rastha peth- 02

Ganesh peth- 05

Raviwar peth- 01

Somwar peth- 01

Nana peth- 02

Shukrawar peth- 01

Guruwar peth- 01

Ghorpade peth- 01

Mahatma phule peth- 01

Navi peth- 01

Total 33