State govt seeks fresh proposal for landslide-prone village rehabilitation after three years

A technical committee has now been constituted by the district administration to reassess the situation

The state government has directed the Pune district administration to resend a revised rehabilitation and reconstruction proposal for landslide-prone villages in Mulshi, Bhor, and Khed talukas. The earlier proposal, submitted in 2022, sought ₹64 crore for the relocation and rehabilitation of affected villages.

Pune district disaster management officer Vitthal Banote confirmed that the state government has asked for a fresh proposal with revised cost estimates. (HT)

A technical committee has now been constituted by the district administration to reassess the situation.

Pune district disaster management officer Vitthal Banote confirmed that the state government has asked for a fresh proposal with revised cost estimates.

“The proposal pertains to the rehabilitation of Kondhre village in Bhor, and other vulnerable villages in Mulshi and Khed talukas. A fresh proposal is being prepared and will be sent to the government at the earliest,” he said.

The 2022 proposal sought ₹8.80 crore for Mulshi taluka, ₹34.70 crore for Bhor, and ₹21 crore for Khed. The district administration has now asked the public works department to recalculate the project cost based on current estimates.

Activists fear the total cost may now touch ₹80 crore and have urged authorities to exercise fiscal prudence and avoid unnecessary escalations.

“The file remained pending with the state government for years. Now, due to the delay, the cost is expected to rise by at least 20%, resulting in a higher burden on taxpayers,” said Sangram Patil, an activist from Bhor taluka.

The rehabilitation plan was originally conceived after the devastating Malin landslide in Ambegaon taluka on July 30, 2014, which killed at least 151 people while residents were asleep. The landslide, triggered by heavy rainfall, is considered one of the worst disasters in the region.

Following the tragedy, the then district collector Rajesh Deshmukh, in 2022 had prepared a plan for temporary accommodation for residents of 84 landslide-prone villages across five talukas—Ambegaon, Mulshi, Maval, Bhor, Velhe, and Junnar. The collector’s report, based on surveys by the Groundwater Survey and Development Agency (GSDA) and GIS mapping, identified 23 villages as highly prone to landslides, with those in Mulshi, Bhor, and Khed found to be particularly vulnerable.