Form separate municipal corporation, not municipal council, for merged villages: Residents, politicians

Recently, the Maharashtra government decided to constitute a separate municipal council for the merged areas of Phursungi and Uruli Devachi

Recently, the Maharashtra government decided to constitute a separate municipal council for the merged areas of Phursungi and Uruli Devachi however both local citizens and political leaders are of the view that a new municipal corporation should be formed for the Hadapsar area instead.

Residents of Phursungi and Uruli Devachi had recently held a meeting with opposition leader Ajit Pawar to discuss various issues (HT FILE PHOTO)

Some political leaders such as Shiv Sena leader and former Hadapsar MLA, Mahadev Babar, have already demanded that a separate municipal corporation be formed for these merged areas. “To carry out proper development and provide basic amenities, there is a need to form a municipal corporation. Even if a separate municipal council is formed for Phursungi and Uruli Devachi, it will not get sufficient grants from the state government. Whereas if a municipal corporation is formed, all the surrounding areas will benefit from it and get good infrastructure,” Babar said.

Former Congress minister Balasaheb Shivarkar, too, made a similar demand and even submitted a list of villages that should be merged with the to-be-formed municipal corporation.

Interestingly, the residents of Phursungi and Uruli Devachi had recently held a meeting with opposition leader Ajit Pawar to discuss various issues. “Pawar held a closed-door meeting with the residents to understand their views. Most of them said that they did not want these areas to be separated from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Pawar promised to solve the property tax issue as well,” a source said on condition of anonymity.