Pune: Ajit Pawar’s Stern Warning Triggers PMC Action on Baner Debris Cleanup
Baner, 25th April 2025: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) launched an urgent large-scale debris removal operation in Baner on Thursday, following a strong public reprimand by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar over the civic body’s negligence.
The action comes after Pawar, during a District Planning Committee (DPC) meeting, expressed anger over the unchecked dumping of construction debris on a government plot earmarked for a Tata Group skill development centre. The project, part of the Tata Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, had been stalled for months due to the accumulation of nearly 500 dumper loads of waste.
Addressing PMC Commissioner Dr. Rajendra Bhosale at the meeting, Pawar issued a strict directive: the debris must be cleared within three days. He warned that he would personally visit the site at 7 AM on the day of the project’s bhoomipujan (groundbreaking ceremony) to verify compliance.
“The Tata project has been delayed long enough. Clear the site immediately, or I will be there to see it for myself,” Pawar said, according to sources present at the meeting.
In swift response, PMC mobilised its machinery on a war footing. Officials deployed five to six large excavators and up to 17 dumpers to begin debris clearance. The operation is being carried out at the civic body’s own expense, after PMC reportedly failed to act against local builders responsible for the illegal dumping.
Residents and local stakeholders have welcomed the sudden action but questioned why it took a high-level intervention for the civic body to respond to an issue that had persisted for months.
