PMC to continue demolition drive as 398 unauthorised structures still standing tall in city

According to data shared by the PMC, there are now 398 unauthorised constructions housing several flats

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will continue its crackdown on unauthorised constructions in the city even as questions are raised as to how these constructions were allowed in the first place.

According to the building permission and construction department of the PMC, there were a total 498 such unauthorised constructions in the old city. (HT PHOTO)

According to data shared by the PMC, there are now 398 unauthorised constructions housing several flats. These are within the old city limits and not in the villages merged with the PMC in the past five years. These structures do not include small encroachments on footpaths or unauthorised sheds erected by shopkeepers, the officials clarified. Action is being taken against these illegal structures with notices served to all of them in the past one year, officials said.

According to the building permission and construction department of the PMC, there were a total 498 such unauthorised constructions in the old city. The PMC razed quite a few out of them in 2023. Just last week, the PMC demolished 11 such buildings accommodating 500 flats in the Ambegaon area in the southern part of Pune city. The PMC building permission department is now targeting the remaining 398 unauthorised structures, an official said.

Prashant Waghmare, city engineer of the PMC, said, “We are taking regular action against unauthorised constructions. From April 2023 till date, the PMC has demolished 16 lakh square feet of unauthorised constructions in different parts of the city. We have purchased machinery to demolish tall buildings. Recent action in the Ambegaon area is one of the biggest actions taken so far. The action will continue.”

In 2021, the state government decided to merge 23 fringe villages with the PMC. Earlier, these villages were a part of the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA). Despite the merger of the 23 villages with the PMC, the PMRDA took action against unauthorised structures in these villages as the planning authority had served notices to them. In reply to a written question at the PMC general body meeting, the PMC building permission and construction department furnished zone-wise detailed information about unauthorised constructions in the city. The building permission and construction department divided the city into seven zones. The PMC sent notices under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act (MMCA) and Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act to identify the unauthorised constructions.

Unauthorised constructions are constructions built without the PMC’s permission. Any additional construction carried out other than the sanctioned plan is also termed illegal. Unauthorised structures include tin shade homes, cement-concrete structures, additional construction to existing buildings without taking permission, consuming extra floor space index (FSI), and transfer development rights (TDR) for construction of extra flats. “We appeal to citizens to check all the documents properly before purchasing any flat or home or any structure,” said Waghmare.

Maximum unauthorised constructions in zones 3, 6 and 1

According to the PMC, zone 3 which includes the Baner, Balewadi and Warje areas has the highest number of unauthorised constructions (126). Interestingly, the PMC did not take any action against these structures in the past one year. Following in the footsteps of zone 3 is zone 6 which covers Kothrud, Shivaji Nagar and Karvenagar and has 105 unauthorised constructions. After zones 3 and 6, zone 1 including Kharadi-Wadgaon Sheri and Dhanori has the third highest number of unauthorised constructions (102). Of the 102 unauthorised constructions, PMC has taken action against only 13 last year. Whereas zone 4 including Viman Nagar, Kalyani Nagar, Yerawada, Mundhwa and Ghorpadi has 51 unauthorised constructions.

Lack of political intervention helps boost action

A senior official of the PMC building permission and development department, said, “There is a nexus between politicians and the land mafia on the outskirts of the city in areas such as Ambegaon, Narhe, Dhayari, Katraj, Kondhwa, Hadapsar and Yewalewadi. “They develop residential schemes without taking any permission. Some of them take two to three storied buildings and construct unauthorised floors,” an official said requesting anonymity. “Due to lack of intervention by local representatives, we have been unable to take definitive action against unauthorised constructions after the Covid-19 pandemic,” the official said.

2,222 unauthorised constructions in PMRDA

As per the PMRDA, there are 2,222 unauthorised constructions in its jurisdiction. Out of these, the PMRDA has pulled down 454 between January 2023 and now.

Sudhir Kulkarni, a civic activist, said, “In 2020, the PMC furnished information in the general body meeting that it had sent notices to the owners of 6,179 properties and that it had taken action against 3,918 unauthorised constructions. However, after three years, the number of notices for unauthorised constructions has dropped to 498, which is surprising.”

“The PMC should proactively take action against the builders involved in constructing unauthorised buildings and selling them to customers. It can easily come to know through advertisement banners and hoardings. People often purchase flats at lower prices only to later discover that they are illegal. In these cases, people suffer and the builders do not face any action and neither do the PMC officials. This is not possible without the involvement of builders and PMC officials. There is a similar situation in the PMRDA region…”