Town planners, activists oppose merger of 34 villages in PMC
Ravi Karandeekar
Speaking at a public interaction, organized by the Sajag Nagrik Manch over the proposed merger, the experts and activities echoed that the merger will cause immense stress on the civic infrastructure of Pune.
“Big cities like Mumbai are reducing their burden of urbanization and towns like Navi Mumbai are being developed around Mumbai. At a time when most are advising smaller cities, the move to merge villages with the PMC and increase the size of the city seems illogical,” Ramchandra Gohad, former state town planning official, said.
“All the parties should clear their stand about merging villages in the city. No final decision should be taken in rush and before results of the elections are declared,” Gohad added.
The state issued an official merger notification on May 29, 2014. If the merger is approved as per the state urban development department notification, the PMC will become the largest municipal corporation in the state.
“Merging villages and increasing city limits will not benefit the citizens of Pune or the residents of villages.
The state should instead take steps to form municipal councils to govern these villages. Such governing bodies will be more beneficial for the growth of the villages,” urban planner Anita Benninger-Gokhale said.
She said the municipal councils will be able to get funds directly from union government to help with development works in those villages.
The merger plan will be effected once citizens are given a chance to voice their objections or recommendations for the move. The state had urged citizens to submit written suggestions or objections to the Principal Secretary, UD department, in Mumbai.
“The state government should clarify their policy on issues such as encroachments, slums and illegal constructions in the villages that are supposed to be merged. The source of income for building infrastructure should also be made known to the public. Haphazard development has taken place in these villages and the hard earned money of Pune’s citizens should not be used to sort out these problems,” Sudhir Kulkarni, founder of Nagrik Hakka Samittee, a citizens group, said.
Kulkarni urged citizens to come forward and raise their voices against this amalgamation before it is too late. “If the state government announces the merger before the elections, citizens must put up a united fight against it. The citizens should put pressure on state authorities to solve urban infrastructure issue in Pune city’” he said. TOI