Corporators lock horns with PMC over ‘haphazard’ drive against illegal construction, allege anomalies

Pune: Corporators from Lohegaon, Wagholi and Nagar Road trained their guns on the civic administration during the general body meeting on Monday, saying the intensified crackdown against unauthorised constructions had turned "haphazard", particularly targeting small homeowners.The elected representatives even claimed that owners of small houses and standalone buildings were facing action without prior notices, while larger illegal projects continued unchecked.Raising the issue, Lohegaon-Wagholi corporator Ramdas Dabhade said the administration was ignoring ground realities in recently merged areas. "Several parts of Lohegaon and Wagholi were included in PMC limits only in the last few years. Many constructions were legally sanctioned before the merger. Despite this, action is being taken indiscriminately. We are not against action on illegal constructions, but PMC must verify documents and permissions instead of harassing small homeowners," Dabhade saidAnother corporator, Anil Satav, alleged that the ongoing action was deliberate and there were instances of monetary exchanges linked to action against constructions. "We want action to be taken strictly against illegal buildings. The administration should also clarify why it does not act when construction work begins and why PMC teams arrive only after buildings are constructed up to four slabs. This shows the administration failed to intervene when illegal constructions were under way," Satav said.Responding to the concerns, PMC city engineer Aniruddha Pavaksar said teams had been told to carry out daily inspections in their respective areas and initiate action wherever required. With regard to merged areas, Pavaksar said, "The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) was earlier the sanctioning authority for building permissions, while PMC's appointment as the authority was announced only recently," he said.The corporators also raised concerns over pending road works in the city. Kondhwa corporator Gaful Pathan demanded the completion of a Shivnerinagar Development Plan road. Meanwhile, Haridas Charvad, corporator from the Sinhagad Road area, demanded the opening of a road link to facilitate commuting for residents of the Gosavi Wasti area.Corporators demand dissolution of revenue committeeSenior corporator Prithviraj Sutar, along with other elected representatives, demanded the dissolution of the revenue committee during Monday's general body meeting, claiming it was delaying fund sanctioning. Sutar said the committee was formed during the Covid-19 pandemic and no longer served a purpose, especially when the standing committee was already functional.Municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram, however, said the revenue committee would continue to function, as it helped in determining spending priorities. He said the administration would discuss issues related to delays with corporators on a case-by-case basis.Murder accused corporators attend GB via videoconferencingCorporators Sonali Andekar and Laxmi Andekar, currently lodged in Kolhapur Central Prison, attended the PMC general body meeting on Monday through videoconferencing. Both were arrested in Sept 2025 on charges of murder in connection with the Aayush Komkar case.They had sought permission from a special MCOCA court to attend the meeting, stating they would risk losing their corporator seats if they failed to attend the general body sessions. Both corporators were elected from the Nana Peth area.
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