Pune: PMC To Include 23 More Villages In Its Jurisdiction; Demands Rs 9,000 Crore From Maharashtra Government

Pune, December 17, 2020: While the development plan of earlier included eleven villages in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is still pending, another 23 villages are likely to be included soon. It has been noted that although the authorities, including the municipal administration, have not objected to the inclusion of latter villages in PMC, a demand of Rs 9,000 crore has been made to the Maharashtra government for the development of these villages.

Against this backdrop, they have demanded that the said amount should be disbursed immediately to the civic administration to avoid delay in development, or else the proposed 23 villages will be included phase-wise. If 23 villages are included in the municipal corporation, the geographical area and population of PMC will increase significantly. Therefore, the required measures needed to be taken to provide water, waste management, the proposed ring road, as well as facilities to the population.

Noting all of these requirements in developing the infrastructure, the PMC Commissioner Vikram Kumar gave details about it and demanded Rs 9,000 crore from the state government. Pune’s water crisis is a key issue, and additional water supply will be needed for the new addition of villages. The commissioner has made four major demands to the state government in this regard. Considering the population of the city including the eleven villages currently included in the civic body’s jurisdiction, 18.94 TMC of water has been demanded from the government. In addition to approving this demand, additional water supply should be sanctioned for the newly included 23 villages.

1. There is a need to get additional staff to facilitate the proposed inclusion of villages. The state government should provide a 100 percent subsidy for providing additional facilities. While publishing the draft notification of PMC boundary extension in 2014, a demand of Rs 5,741 crore was made for the development of 34 villages. Given the current situation, this amount has reached Rs 9,000 crore this year. This amount should be granted.

2. Even before these villages were included in the PMC, there has been uncontrolled development. Accordingly, facilities have not been developed in these villages. Therefore, there is a need for large scale development work and preparation of a ‘Master Plan’ for water supply, sewerage and roads.

3. Eleven villages were included in PMC in 2017. Permission for development in these villages was given through the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA). While issuing these permits, the amount collected as a development fee is required to be paid to the municipality.

4. Adequate funds should be made available for the development of these villages as the sources of income like local body tax LBT, Octroi is closed.

5. The Haveli Taluka Civil Action Committee had filed a petition in the High Court seeking the inclusion of 34 villages around the city in the Municipal Corporation. After the court gave this permission, the Maharashtra government included 11 villages on October 4, 2017. It was decided to include the remaining 23 villages in phases. For 23 villages, the government has asked the High Court for three years.

Pune mayor Muralidhar Mohol stated that the civic administration isn’t against taking these villages under their jurisdiction. However, the development plan of the previous eleven villages is still incomplete. Therefore, the state government should provide Rs 9,000 crore to PMC for including these villages. Otherwise, these villages should be included in phases.