Aundh residents raise the pitch for gardens

PUNE: Public gardens that dot the city are its green lungs. However, some areas like Aundh, Baner, Kharadi, Wadgaon Budruk and Warje do not have this amenity,members of the Aundh Vikas Mandal (AVM) have said.
These suburbs have plots earmarked for gardens in the Development Plan, but land acquisition has been the biggest hurdle in developing them, they added.The AVM has been pursuing the case with local ward officials and land acquisition officers in the civic body, but are yet to get results. Citizens said the PMC has been promising them gardens for a long time, but with no step in this direction, they were not sure when the gardens will be developed.
"For a population of 2.5 lakh, it is surprising that the civic body was unable to plan a large garden in the rapidly urbanised suburbs of Aundh-Baner, all these decades. This reflects the approach of civic authorities to holistic town planning. If no land is available with the PMC for a large garden in this suburb, it can use special powers that allow it to take over private land for civic amenities. If land is available, then why is there a delay in planning a garden," said Girish Deshpande, a member of the mandal.
The civic body's executive engineer Aniruddha Pawaskar said the garden department has acquired a plot of 6,000 sq m on Baner Road, close to the Pune-Mumbai highway, and has invited tenders for its development. "There is another small plot in Aundh, which has also been acquired, and both gardens should be developed in a year's time," Pawaskar said.
Kharadi resident, Satyajit Sharma said their locality does not have a single garden or even a small jogging track, making it difficult for parents to take their kids out in the evening during vacations. "It is just the mall culture that is growing and no garden areas are being developed for children to spend quality time in the open. We wonder why some areas have so many gardens, while others don't have even one."
The PMC's land acquisition officer Hemant Nikam said efforts to acquire two plots in Aundh and Baner area were on. "Land acquisition is a time-consuming process. Following all legal norms, it takes more than a year to acquire a plot and we are putting in all efforts to do it at a faster pace," Nikam said.
Another civic official said in most areas, the land owners are refusing to part with their land, so the acquisition process becomes even more tedious. "We have opted for compulsory acquisition through the district collector in many cases, which will take a considerable amount of time," the official said.
Warje resident Sunita Paranjpye said the civic body should fast-track all land acquisition processes so that citizens get the benefit of public spaces rather than they be left unused.