Mohalla Committee meetings useless, citizens allege

Citizens said that Aundh and Baner are plagued by encroachment problems whereas the roads in Aundh are narrow with wide pavements, leading to traffic congestion on a regular basis

PUNE: According to citizens, the monthly mohalla committee meetings between the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) ward officials and the residents of Aundh, Baner, Pashan and Balewadi are of no use as the civic body is unable to resolve their problems despite repeatedly raising them in subsequent meetings.

The roads under the jurisdiction of the Aundh ward office are dilapidated with uneven pavements, which is a cause for concern, especially for the elderly. (HT PHOTO)

Citizens said that Aundh and Baner are plagued by encroachment problems whereas the roads in Aundh are narrow with wide pavements, leading to traffic congestion on a regular basis. The roads under the jurisdiction of the Aundh ward office are dilapidated with uneven pavements, which is a cause for concern, especially for the elderly. Furthermore, public toilets in Aundh have been demolished by the PMC and garbage is not regularly lifted. Residents of D P Road, Aundh, get inadequate water at low pressure. In Balewadi, the drainage lines are dilapidated and get choked frequently. While the issue has been raised in several past meetings, no action has been taken.

Civic activist and area resident, Vaishali Patkar, said that the mohalla committee meetings are of no use as the same issues have to be raised at every subsequent meeting, and there are no solutions to the problems. “The PMC officials are unable to provide a solution to the problems raised earlier and the problems have to be raised again in the meeting. The PMC should start providing solutions to problems raised at the earlier meeting before holding the next meeting,” Patkar said.

“We can understand if a new officer has taken charge but what about the existing staff? The staff already knows the problems and it’s their duty to work towards resolution. Why should citizens have to keep complaining?” she said.

Ameya Jagtap, a resident of Balewadi, said that several issues are pending despite repeatedly raising them in the mohalla committee meetings. “In Balewadi, we have a major issue of drainage lines. This problem has been pending for a while,” Jagtap said. He said that the drainage lines are old and decrepit. “The drainage lines regularly get choked up and need to be changed. Given the increase in population in the Balewadi area, the load on these lines has increased.”

Girish Dapkekar, assistant municipal commissioner, Aundh ward office, said that the pending work of the drainage lines in Balewadi will be completed immediately as they have received fund allocation for the same. “The road and pavement repair work will be carried out. The road repair work was pending as the PMC plan had been shot down for the past two weeks. We have been regularly taking action against illegal encroachment. However, work on a few roads and pavements that are not under the ward office will be given to the main department,” Dapkekar said.