PCMC intensifies anti-encroachment drive, clears more than 300 illegal structures in 40 days

Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has stepped up its anti-encroachment drive, days after taking action against civic officials for inaction and ordering strict enforcement ahead of the monsoon.Over the past 40 days, more than 300 illegal structures covering 1.8 lakh sqft have been cleared.A senior PCMC official said the drive targets both temporary and permanent constructions, with a focus on intervening during the early stages of construction.In one such operation in Wakad on Wednesday, officials from the D ward demolished 33 tin sheds spanning 74,755 sqft to facilitate road widening in the area. In a similar action on Thursday, the same ward cleared 43 tin sheds covering 63,184 sqft.The crackdown gained momentum after municipal commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi conducted a series of review meetings and instructed officials to prioritise action against encroachments. Earlier this month, he suspended two engineers for failing to act within their jurisdictions and issued a show-cause notice to a ward officer. One of the suspended engineers was found leaking information about planned anti-encroachment operations, which alerted locals and hampered the drive.Additional municipal commissioner Trupti Sandbhor said beat inspectors have been directed to conduct regular patrols and take swift action against illegal constructions. "We are ensuring that structures are demolished at the initial stage of construction. At the same time, completed illegal structures, including those on PCMC land and other govt properties, are also being removed," she said.She added that a GIS survey of nullahs has been conducted to identify structures obstructing water flow, and action is now being initiated against such encroachments. "Officials have been instructed to clear these obstructions before May 15," she said.The civic body will also launch a drive from Friday to remove encroachments from footpaths across the city to ensure pedestrian access. As part of pre-monsoon preparations, nullah cleaning has been accelerated, and officials have been directed to complete desilting before the rains begin.Earlier, the civic chief had also appointed nodal officers for each ward to handle rain-related complaints during the monsoon.
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