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PWD claims ‘Mamledar Kacheri’ will be completed in six months
Many government offices in Pune city operate from privately-owned properties as the government, despite owning land, is unable to construct administrative and residential buildings owing to lack of funds
After newly elected MLA from Kasba Peth, Hemant Rasane, pointed out at the end of the winter session on Saturday that the redevelopment of ‘Mamledar Kacheri (Court)’ in Shukrawar Peth has been stalled for over 20 years, officials from the public works department (PWD) are now claiming that the building will be completed in six months and will be ready to use. “It’s been over 20 years that the redevelopment of ‘Mamledar Kacheri’ has been stalled. I urge the government to look into the issue,” Rasane said on Saturday.
Many government offices in Pune city operate from privately-owned properties as the government, despite owning land, is unable to construct administrative and residential buildings owing to lack of funds. Whereas the PWD has proposed that it will develop government plots through privatisation on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.
In 2002, the infrastructure committee of the cabinet approved a proposal to lease government plots to private builders for 99 years, initially at the rate of one rupee per square metre. The plan would allow these plots to be used for residential instead of public/semi-public purposes. Redevelopment of the ‘Mamledar Kacheri’ land located in the Kadakmal area of Shukrawar Peth was part of this plan. The tender was awarded to Kamdar Kakade (JV) who was granted 8,000 square metres of land on lease in exchange for constructing administrative buildings and residences. So far, over 7,000 square metres of this land has been handed over to the builder in phases. Till date, out of eight construction sites, an eight-room VVIP resthouse at Ranicha Bagh; 52 residences at the Western Club of India; and an administrative building at bungalow no. 14 in Yerawada have been completed under the BOT project. Only a new administrative building at Khadakmal is still ‘under construction’. The Khadakmal plot, spanning 14,793 square metres, had buildings constructed as early as 1886-87 that were deemed unsafe and as a result, redevelopment was planned to replace the dilapidated structures.
A PWD official said that the project involves constructing 16,000 square metres of space in exchange for the 8,000 square metres of land including the Khadakmal plot. “However, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) changed the parking rules which created obstacles in the redevelopment of the Khadakmal plot. As per the new parking rules, the contractor has to construct two extra floors for parking which initially, the contractor refused to do. After discussions, the contractor agreed to construct two additional floors for parking. This entire process took time as per procedure and the project was delayed,” the PWD official said.
“Now, the construction work is nearing completion, with only the flooring and plastering left. We have also floated a separate tender for the office furniture. After installation of the furniture, the new office building is expected to be ready in six months,” the PWD official said.
Mamledar Kacheri (Court)
The site of the Mamledar Kacheri (Court) in the Khadakmal area of Shukrawar Peth goes as far back as the Peshwa period. Later, under British rule, a prison and court were established in this area. Earlier, tehsildars were called Mamledars and used to sit here and look after the affairs of the city. Hence, the place was named Mamledar Kacheri (Court). Currently, the main office of the tehsildar of Pune city and other offices namely the city survey officer, forest department and secondary registrar are located here. In January 2011, valuable documents, mainly land records of Haveli, the largest tehsil in the state, were gutted in a fire which also damaged the windows, doors and roof of the building, designed and constructed by the British more than 120 years ago.
