Pune: PMC has cautioned homebuyers to avoid purchasing properties without due diligence in merged areas, where the development plan (DP) is not yet approved.According to the civic administration, multiple demolition drives have been carried out in the merged areas against illegal properties in the last two weeks, bringing down multi-storey apartments as well.“Homebuyers may get fooled into purchasing properties in illegal constructions. They should not buy plots or carry out construction without prior clearance of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC),” said a senior official of the building permissions department.As many as 23 villages were merged into PMC limits in 2021, and their DP has not yet been finalised and approved.Civic officials said building permissions are given as per the regional plan (RP) sanctioned by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA). The civic administration is considering roads shown in the sanctioned RP for giving building permissions.“These areas were part of PMRDA before the merger into PMC. Many developers are carrying out constructions without any information or sanction from PMC. Corporation approval is mandatory now, as it is the sanctioning body,” said a senior civic official.With regards to recent action, PMC officials said demolition has been carried out in accordance with provisions of the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR), which function in conjunction with the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966. Typically, when a violation of building permission rules occurs, authorities issue a notice under section 53 of the MRTP Act. It directs the owner to either remove or regularise the unauthorised work within a specified period.The urban development department in Feb issued a notification to withdraw PMRDA’s status as the special planning authority for the 23 merged areas. From that point forward, PMC would be the sole planning authority — responsible for preparing a fresh DP, granting building permissions, planning road networks and executing civic upgrades in the newly added area.Many activists claimed civic authorities and elected members are hand-in-glove when it comes to illegal constructions, leading to a delay in approval of the much-awaited DP. “Political influence is leading to illegal constructions. Many civic officials ignore the constructions till they reach a later stage. Then, action is taken. This is all due to the nexus between some civic officials, corporators, and developers,” said Vijay Kumbhar of citizens’ group Surajya Sangharsh Samiti.The civic body’s general body meeting in June this year approved a proposal to begin the process to prepare a draft DP. The formation of a DP for the 23 merged areas faced many technical challenges in the last five years. The initial DP was prepared by PMRDA, but state govt cancelled it, citing various reasons.Last year, state govt appointed PMC as the planning authority for the merged areas. Following this, the civic body started the process to prepare a fresh DP. PMC has to complete key studies like existing land use surveys, study of population trends, housing and socio-economic surveys before finalising the DP.“A committee has been formed to speed up DP works. The sanctions will be given with due process,” said Aniruddha Pawaskar, city engineer of PMC.
