Maha forms committee to review flood lines in state

Maharashtra forms a 12-member committee to revise Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad flood lines and development rules, with a report due in two months.

The Maharashtra government has formed a 12-member committee under the leadership of the additional secretary of the urban development department to revisit blue and red flood lines of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad and prepare new development rules. The committee has been instructed to submit the review report within two months.

Earlier, Pimpri-Chinchwad MLA Shankar Jagtap had raised the issue of flood lines in the Maharashtra assembly, demanding that they be revised. (HT)

Earlier, Pimpri-Chinchwad MLA Shankar Jagtap had raised the issue of flood lines in the Maharashtra assembly, demanding that they be revised. Following Jagtap’s demand and previous petitions by social activists such as Sarang Yadwadkar, Vijay Kumbhar and Vivek Velankar, the state government decided to constitute the 12-member committee.

A government resolution (GR) for constituting the committee was passed by the deputy secretary of the urban development department, Pranav Varpe. The GR stated, “The committee will have 12 members and will need to submit the report within a period of two months.”

The committee will have to revisit the red and blue flood lines and make suggestions based on the same. The committee will comprise the additional secretary of the water resources department; rehabilitation secretary; director-general of Maharashtra Engineering Research Institute (MERI); director of urban development department; municipal commissioners of Pimpri-Chinchwad, Kolhapur and Chandrapur; and chief executive officers of the Mahad and Badlapur municipal councils.

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Meanwhile, civic activist Vivek Velankar said, “We have been raising the issue of flood lines for the past many years. The irrigation department and MERI had accepted that the existing flood lines are not enough. Eight months ago, a committee was formed for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad but nothing happened. Let us hope that this time, the committee will submit the report in time and make provisions that there will be no construction/s in flood line areas.”