The proposed Pandharpur pilgrimage development corridor project faced fresh opposition at the local level, with all members of the Pandharpur Municipal Council opposing the land acquisition proposal and deciding to defer it.
The Maharashtra government approved a ₹3,993-crore development plan for the corridor in June. The project involves acquisition of land and properties in parts of Pandharpur. The administration has said efforts will be made to ensure that affected residents, shopkeepers and tenants are rehabilitated.
The proposal was placed before the municipal council for discussion on Wednesday. However, councillors from both the ruling and opposition sides, including members of the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led group, opposed the move.
The councillors demanded that affected residents be taken into confidence and that the project be implemented only after obtaining their consent. Many also raised concerns over shortcomings in the proposed corridor and opposed the land acquisition.
Following the discussion, all councillors supported keeping the proposal pending. Municipal council president Pranita Bhalke subsequently announced that the proposal had been deferred with the consensus of the ruling and opposition members.
Bhalke said the project had several shortcomings and that the concerns raised by councillors and affected residents needed to be addressed before proceeding with the land acquisition.
{{/usCountry}}Bhalke said the project had several shortcomings and that the concerns raised by councillors and affected residents needed to be addressed before proceeding with the land acquisition.
{{/usCountry}}Protest march
The Tirth Kshetra Bachao Samiti organised a protest march outside the Pandharpur Municipal Council on Wednesday, opposing the proposal seeking approval for land acquisition for the corridor project. Abhay Singh Ichganokar-Kulkarni, head of the Pandharpur Tirth Kshetra Bachao Samiti, said the group had not received any notices or communication from the state government regarding the proposed land acquisition.
“Neither have we received any notices nor any communication from the state government regarding land acquisition for the Pandharpur Corridor Project. The guardian minister said that only a few people are opposing the project. We have therefore organised this protest to demonstrate the strength of our opposition,” he said.
Land acquisition
The Solapur district administration is likely to begin the official land acquisition process for the proposed corridor within 15 days, deputy collector Santoshkumar Deshmukh said on Monday after showing a presentation of the project on Monday. Deshmukh has been appointed the land acquisition officer-cum-project officer.
“Notifications and related formalities will be undertaken accordingly. We have decided to take all stakeholders on board while implementing the project,” Deshmukh said.
Around 450 residential and 400 commercial properties are expected to be affected, along with 207 to 225 tenants.
Deshmukh said a ₹201-crore rehabilitation policy has been approved for affected residential and commercial property owners and tenants.
“Around 64,000 square metres of land, equivalent to approximately 16 acres, is needed for the project. Of this, around 50,000 square metres will have to be acquired,” officials said.
The corridor between Choufala and Mahadwar will have a width of up to 65 metres, extending on both sides of the road. However, officials clarified that there will be no additional widening of the pradakshina route and that only encroachments, if any, will be removed.
Once the process begins, actual land acquisition is expected to take six to eight months, officials said.
For commercial properties, the preliminary estimate is that compensation could be around ₹40,000 per square foot. The compensation formula for residential properties is still being worked out.
The administration has also proposed measures for tenants who may lose their shops. Under the plan, eligible tenants will be provided commercial units at locations where four parking facilities are proposed. They may also receive compensation of up to approximately ₹15 lakh, depending on their eligibility.
“Commercial units for affected traders will be provided on the ground floor, while the first floor will have accommodation and other facilities for pilgrims,” Deshmukh said.
Of the 28 suggestions submitted by the Warkari Paik Sangh and other affected persons, 19 have been incorporated into the development plan, while discussions are under way on the remaining suggestions.
A meeting with the Warkari Paik Sangh is planned in the next few days to address its concerns.
“No affected person will be forcibly removed, kept in the dark about the process or subjected to sudden action by the government machinery,” Deshmukh said.