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Monday Musings: Camp’s crumbling story: High on heritage, low on living index
Coming under Pune Cantonment Board, Camp’s pristine nature and quietude was transformed into a busy thoroughfare where civilian residential areas developed into commercial establishments leading to a good influx of outside residents and capital for the business
Camp area in Pune stands widely in contrast with the others, with its crowd of the elite, colonial British buildings, still holding back their imperial charm. The families residing here form a cosmopolitan society, with other instances of colonial architecture lie educational institutions, clubs, churches or seminar halls.
Some of this still stands true although the area has lost its sheen, much in contrast to its rich neighbourhood that includes Koregaon Park.
Coming under Pune Cantonment Board, Camp’s pristine nature and quietude was transformed into a busy thoroughfare where civilian residential areas developed into commercial establishments leading to a good influx of outside residents and capital for the business.
However, slowly and gradually the area has witnessed an exodus of old residents to new suburbs while businesses from all corners of the country are tapping into the growth potential.
The cantonment population has shrunk from one lakh in 2007 to 71,781 as per the 2011 census.
Camp was once the shining spot in the city which during the pre-independence era was limited only to the eastern bank of Mutha river. East Street was till the first decade of this century, for all intents and purposes, the entertainment hotspot of Camp and the rest of the city as well. If Mahatma Gandhi road was shoppers’ paradise, East Street was a hotspot for foodies, littering late till night. These days, both these streets wear deserted look by 9pm.
Some of the buildings that host the restaurants are over a century old. However, they are in poor condition and the complex rules have made it difficult to revamp these structures. The British-built Gothic and Grecian buildings have fallen victim to vegetation growth. Residents here are mainly struggling to modernise their British-era homes because of restrictions on floor space index (FSI) when redevelopment has become a buzzword in the rest of the city with areas like Kothrud, Sahakarnagar witnessing buildings from the 1980s and 1990s being replaced with high-rise towers.
Currently, the FSI within the Pune Cantonment’s civilian area is 1 and for bungalow, it is 0.5. This is less than Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limit where FSI is 2 while the stretch alongside the Metro route has FSI up to 4 under the Transit Oriented Policy.
If the buildings have their own problem, roads, drainage systems and footpaths are in no good shape. The crumbling infrastructure of Pune Cantonment has become a topic of serious concern with no political party seen actively taking up issues of residents. People alleged that the former elected members instead of having their independent views seeking empowerment for their wards have collaborated with the administration in not condemning the continuation of VET recovery from vehicles entering PCB areas. At the same time, the property tax calculations undertaken by the administration has also invited the ire of the residents who feel that they are being billed heavily just to make up for the deficit of the board finances.
Hawker menace on all cantonment roads comprises portable and fast-moving kiosks causing severe inconvenience to the residents. PCB administration has been taking action with kid’s gloves which has emboldened the hawkers who have now organised themselves as a group and put pressure on the anti-encroachment squad. The squad has also been heavily criticised for targeting weak hawkers and turning a blind eye towards the economically powerful hawkers who have established themselves within the confines of commercial shops and extended their operations on the roads without fearing the police and the cantonment board. Civic rights activists demand that the army authorities must take the board administration to task for their acts of omission and commission.
During the last decade, the army intervention in the affairs of PCB has reduced drastically due to which the administrative cadre no longer fears being reprimanded by the army officials, the activists stated. There are attempts initiated to merge cantonment areas into civic limits even as no concrete steps taken in this regard.
The hope now is the latest notification about elections in cantonment areas which might bring some positive news for Camp.
