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PCMC seeks extension for DP as 50k objections remain unheard
PCMC has sought six-month extension to complete the statutory process related to the twin city’s DP with nearly 50,000 public objections pending and mandatory hearing committee still to be fully formed
PUNE: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has sought a six-month extension to complete the statutory process related to the twin city’s development plan (DP), with nearly 50,000 objections from citizens still pending and the mandatory hearing committee still to be fully formed. The request comes one day before the legal deadline for completing the process.
The draft DP was published on May 15 last year, inviting citizens to file objections to land reservations and planning proposals. The civic body received an overwhelming response, with around 50,000 objections, many from landowners claiming incorrect reservations on their properties. As per the planning rules, all objections must be heard and the DP must be sent to the state government for approval within one year of publication. With the May 16 deadline almost there, the town planning department tabled a proposal at Friday’s general body meeting seeking an extension. However, the matter was deferred and will now be taken up in the next meeting.
A senior civic official said that the extension process has already been initiated, which keeps the proposal alive despite the deferment. “Even though the proposal was deferred in the general body meeting, the extension request remains valid as the process has already been formally initiated,” the official said. Once approved by the PCMC general body, the proposal will be sent to the director of the state town planning department for final clearance. As per the existing rules, municipal corporations with populations between 20 lakh and one crore are permitted to seek an extension of up to one year for completing the hearing process.
The bigger concern, however, is the civic body’s inability to constitute the committee required to hear the objections. While the PCMC has finalised four expert members for the panel, three members from the standing committee are still to be nominated. Without the full panel, hearings cannot begin. Sources in the civic administration said that strong public resistance to the draft plan has made committee formation difficult. “There is hesitation among standing committee members to join the hearing panel because the draft plan has triggered widespread opposition across the city,” a source said. The draft DP, prepared during administrative rule in the PCMC, had drawn criticism from political parties across the board. Leaders from both ruling and opposition parties had objected to several reservations proposed in the plan. At Friday’s general body meeting, some corporators even went a step further to demand that the draft DP be scrapped entirely instead of being revised through the objection process. The DP is a crucial, long-term planning blueprint for the city. It governs land use, reservations for public amenities, road networks, and future urban growth. Any prolonged delay in finalisation could affect planning decisions and future development in Pimpri-Chinchwad.
