E-Paper
PMC wants more funds for development of 34 merged villages
Committee constituted by the state government for 34 villages merged with PMC has demanded that more funds be allotted for carrying out development works in the areas
PUNE: The committee comprising 27 members constituted by the state government for the 34 villages merged with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has demanded that more funds be allotted for carrying out development works in these areas. According to the committee, the PMC is recovering taxes from the residents of these villages without offering benefits to the taxpayers.
Whereas the PMC has replied to the committee saying that while it is trying to provide maximum funds for these areas, getting help in the form of grants from the state government will help speed up the development works in these areas.
The committee members met municipal commissioner Rajendra Bhosale at the PMC headquarters on Monday. Officials from all PMC departments were also present at the meeting. Bhosale said, “As instructed by the state government, the PMC called a meeting with representatives. We will call such a meeting every month to address various issues. The PMC gave a presentation to the members and informed them about the works underway in the merged areas. It was a positive meeting.”
Additional municipal commissioner Prithviraj B P said, “The municipal commissioner gave a brief about the various projects in these areas, including ongoing and planned projects. But the committee members pointed out that the budgetary provision for these areas is less and that the PMC commissioner needs to increase it. The PMC commissioner is positive about it and has promised to make the necessary allocation.”
Baburao Chandere and other committee members said that the merged villages, mainly Baner, Sus and Bavdhan are facing water scarcity and that the PMC needs to address the problem. Other committee members too raised issues related to drinking water, drainage, street lights and road works in these areas. The members said that the PMC is focusing on collecting tax from the residents of these areas but is neglecting creating adequate infrastructure in these areas.
A total 34 villages were merged with the PMC in two phases. Back in 2017, the state government merged 11 villages with the PMC and later in 2021, 23 more villages were brought within the PMC limits by the state government. In all, 34 villages were merged with the PMC but they did not get any political representation in the absence of local body polls taking place in these areas. The state government then appointed a committee comprising 27 members under the leadership of the divisional commissioner to address the issues faced by these areas. Many of these merged areas lack basic amenities such as roads, street lights, adequate drinking water and proper drainage.
Santosh Shivade, an Ambegaon resident, said, “We are very happy that our village got merged with the PMC but instead of benefits, we are facing more problems. The work of the Katraj Highway from Navale Bridge to Katraj Chowk is going on for the last two years. Service road works are incomplete. There are huge traffic jams. Even garbage management is an issue here.”
Rujuta Shah from Undri, said, “We purchased a flat in this area considering that it is now part of the PMC. But we are facing problems including road connectivity and water scarcity.”
