Bombay HC disposes of petitions as PMRDA to withdraw draft development plan

Pune: The Bombay high court on Tuesday disposed of eight petitions as ‘infructuous' after the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) filed an affidavit informing it would withdraw its existing draft development plan (DP) in favour of preparing a new one for the next 20 years.The petitions had challenged the draft DP.However, the HC bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice Sandeep V Marne has posted another petition filed by activists Ujjwal Keskar and Suhas Kulkarni for its next hearing on Aug 25. The said petition challenges the state's decision to appoint PMRDA as the special planning authority for the 23 villages merged within Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits. "Keskar and Kulkarni have pleaded that PMC should be the planning authority for the merged villages," their lawyer Ritvik Joshi told TOI.On Jan 25, last year, while hearing a petition by a member of the Pune metropolitan planning committee, the HC had directed a stay on PMRDA's draft DP process to enable the authority to take a final decision on the 69,218 suggestions/objections received from people regarding the draft DP. On Aug 2, 2021, the PMRDA had issued an advertisement inviting such suggestions/objections.During a meeting chaired by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on Feb 12, the PMRDA decided to submit an affidavit before the HC that it was withdrawing the draft DP and would make a new one. The PMRDA's affidavit submitted on Tuesday was in this context and the HC took the same on record while disposing of the petitions.PMRDA commissioner Yogesh Mhase told TOI, "We can go ahead with the formal process of cancelling the draft DP. We will send it to the CM."Consultant to PMRDA's development plan cell Vivek Kharwadkar said, "The order allows the development authority to start a new planning process, adhering to legal procedures. PMRDA can go ahead with actions related to planning in the Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR) for the next 20 years," he told TOI.Kharwadkar said preparatory work had already begun after PMRDA adopted a resolution to cancel the draft DP a few months ago."The fresh exercise poses an opportunity to take into consideration the development carried out during the intervening period. The fresh plan will be based on latest data. The commissioner has emphasised upgradation of data over the last six months," he added.He further said, "Based on latest data, we will have a planning intervention which will take care of immediate demands and overcome the backlog of services. Also, a phased programme shall align with the Maharashtra govt's goals."Officials said the state govt would have to notify cancellation of the DP and the new planning exercise will outline a development roadmap for the next 20 years.Meanwhile, Keskar said, "The PMC had declared its intention under section 23 of the MRTP Act to prepare a draft development plan for the 23 merged areas. Our petition was that the MVA govt in the state had violated the 74th amendment to the Constitution and deprived the PMC of its authority under Schedule 13."