Pune: Census Deadline Puts Ajit Pawar’s Three-Municipal-Corporation Proposal on the Clock
Pune, 10th August 2025: Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s proposal to set up three new municipal corporations in the Pune metropolitan region faces a strict deadline from the central government. Any new civic body or change in existing boundaries must be completed before December 31, 2025, due to preparations for the upcoming Census. After that, no alterations can be made until March 2027.
At present, Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad are the only municipal corporations in the district. Pawar, citing rapid urbanisation, has suggested forming three separate corporations — one each for Hinjawadi, Chakan, and a combined Uruli Devachi–Fursungi–Loni Kalbhor–Wagholi area. However, the proposal has not found favour with the ruling coalition partners. During his visit to Pune on the same day, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis indicated a preference for considering just one new corporation instead of three.
The 16th Census will run from April 2026 to March 2027, beginning with house listing and household data collection in 2026, followed by door-to-door enumeration in February 2027. The process will conclude on March 1, 2027. The Registrar General of India has directed all states to complete any creation or restructuring of districts, talukas, or municipal corporations by December 31, 2025, ahead of this schedule.
This means Pawar’s three-corporation plan would need to be finalised and implemented within the next four and a half months — or deferred until after March 2027.
District reorganisation remains stalled
The state has seen no new district formations since Palghar was carved out as the 36th district on August 1, 2014. Despite long-standing demands for more districts and talukas, no administrative divisions have been created in the past 11 years. With the establishment of Jalna Municipal Corporation last year, Maharashtra now has 29 municipal corporations.
