Pune: NCP Push for Including 23 Villages in Municipal Corporations
Pune, August 23, 2020: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has started preparations to regain power in the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporations. For this, the state government is likely to make a decision soon to include 23 villages around the city in the municipal corporations. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has given a clear instruction to the local leaders to decide whether these villages should be included in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) or a separate Municipal Corporation.
Local NCP leaders met Pawar on Friday. Among them were MP Vandana Chavan, MLA Chetan Tupe, Sunil Tingre, former mayor Prashant Jagtap, Datta Dhankawade, Vaishali Bankar, former standing committee chairman Vishal Tambe, Subhash Jagtap, Ashwini Kadam and Shrikant Patil.
Pawar discussed many issues with local leaders and listened to their complaints. He also conveyed to these leaders the direction of the future course of the NCP, saying that he would do his utmost to re-establish power in the Municipal Corporation.
Discussions were held on the political implications of including 23 villages around the city in the PMC, how many PMC corporators will be added, and how the party will benefit from it. MLA Tupe has been given the responsibility of coordination to report whether these villages should be included in Pune Municipal Corporation or a separate Municipal Corporation. ‘The forthcoming local body elections will be fought as the Mahavikas Aghadi alliance. “We are going to talk to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray about the political developments in Pune”, said Pawar.
To increase membership
The decision to include the villages near the city in the municipal corporation was taken by the alliance government before 2014. However, the BJP took a stand that these villages should not be taken over as the NCP dominates the area. Therefore, the Devendra Fadnavis government reversed that decision.
Few years, 11 of these villages were included in the municipal corporation. The inclusion of the remaining villages is an important step in the NCP’s path to increase its membership in the municipal corporation and gain power. Therefore, it is being said that NCP and Ajit Pawar are insistent for the inclusion of villages.
The 11 villages- Uruli Devachi, Phursungi, Bavdhan Budruk, Lohegaon (remaining), Hadapsar (Sadesatra Nali), Mundhwa (Keshavnagar area), Shivane (remaining), Dhayari (remaining), Undri, Ambegaon Khurda and Ambegaon Budruk; merged with PMC in July 2017.
The residents of Wagholi have been demanding merger with PMC or PCMC or creation of a new muncipal council or municipal corporation as the Wagholi Gram Panchayat is unable to provide even basic civic amenities like water supply and garbage collection. Wagholi has seen rapid urbanisation in the last 10 years.
