Civic amenities on the cards in merged areas

PUNE: The state government has approved the excluded part of the development plan (DP) for the 18 villages of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, paving way for development of reservations for civic amenities proposed in the plan.
The government has approved the excluded parts of the DP through a notification earlier this month and these parts will come into force a month after publication of the notification in the government gazette.
The 18 villages, including Talawade, Moshi, Chikhli, Chowiswadi, Dudulgaon, Dighi, Bopkhel, Ravet, Punawale, Dapodi and some parts of Wakad, were merged with the PCMC in September 1997.
The civic body had in the same year declared that a development plan for these fringe areas will be prepared.
The government had approved a large part of the draft plan, but excluded some portions. A notification in this regard was published in August 2009 and suggestions and objections about the excluded part were invited. The civic body had sent the reports about the hearing to the government in December 2010 and in February 2011.
Prakash Thakur, deputy director, town planning, PCMC said, "The reservations for civic amenities that have been sanctioned in the DP through this notification will now come into force. The civic body will be able to acquire the land and create public amenities on them."
Corporators from these villages have been alleging that the PCMC has failed to develop the reservations in the development plan, depriving the local residents of basic amenities like hospitals, roads and gardens.
Datta Sane, NCP corporator from Chikhli said, "The PCMC has failed in providing basic amenities to the residents of the newly merged villages. It must include the reservations in the DP and develop them so that the local residents get basic amenities."
MNS corporator Rahul Jadhav from ward 5 Kudalwadi-Jadhavwadi said, "There are 42 reservations in my ward as per the DP but not a single one has been developed. I want the PCMC to construct a hospital, playground, garden and a school on priority for the benefit of the residents of my ward."
Shiv Sena corporator from Moshi, Dhananjay Alhat said, "The civic body has not acquired land for 70% of the roads in my ward. It has acquired small portions of land for the reservations for other civic amenities but it is of no use as a civic project is implemented only after having 100% land in the civic body's possession. If the PCMC cannot develop the reservations then it must return the land to farmers.''