Monday Musings: Punes urban planning driven by political leverage than by good governance
Last month, the state government notified demerger of Uruli Devachi and Phursungi villages from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) while announcing a separate municipal council for them. The urban development department (UDD) of the state government notified the demerger, barely two years after their inclusion in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits.While residents of Uruli Devachi and Phursungi are divided over the demerger from PMC, the government has sought PMCs opinion on forming another municipal corporation for eastern parts of Pune including Hadapsar and Wagholi areas.The two developments, taking place within a weeks time, not just highlights contradictions but they underline flawed planning that is driven by political considerations than by governance.If the government is serious about forming another municipal corporation, it should have considered including Uruli Devachi and Phursungi in the new civic body as these areas share proximity to Hadapsar. Instead, the government listened to members close to those in power and quickly delinked these two villages from PMC to form a new municipal council.The process for the formation of another municipal corporation in Pune has already been delayed amid the merger and demerger of villages and the rapid expansion of the city.Over the period, Pune has grown in all directions with the citys population and geographical limits of the civic body has increased dramatically in the last five years, making it difficult for the current administration to run affairs smoothly. Some of the areas merged in the past five years lack basic amenities even as cheap real estate prices have encouraged the migrating population to make these areas their home.The area under PMCs jurisdiction increased exponentially from 243 sq km in 2001 to 518 sq km in 2021 after the merger of the 34 villages - 11 villages in 2017 and 23 villages in 2021.The formation of another governing body will certainly reduce the administrative burden on the PMC and at the same time ensure better development of areas in the eastern parts that have seen massive development with large-scale real estate projects coming up there.These areas have an approximate population of more than 10 lakh people. While the population of PMC was estimated to be around 35 lakh in 2011, it has since grown to around 50 lakh.The existing Pune municipal corporation came into being in 1950. An increase in urbanisation led to the formation of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) 32 years after that, in 1982.A separate municipal corporation will cater to the development of the surrounding areas growth more effectively, as the municipal commissioner along with elected representatives taking decisions for more than 50 lakh people is not just risky but undesirable too.In the past city has seen that after 1982 when PCMC was formed, the city had seen rapid expansion in its population and area. At the same time, many areas of PMC saw a well-planned development.As per the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, a municipal corporation with a population of over 24 lakh in its area needs to have a minimum of 145 elected corporators. Pune in the previous general body that expired in March 2022 had 165 and this can likely to go up to 166 after the upcoming civic polls.As seen so far, the merger of some villages into PMC has so far not solved the purpose. The existing municipal corporation is already under stress with a lack of manpower and inadequate revenue to provide basic facilities. So, if the demerger of Uruli Devachi and Phursungi from PMC was more of a political decision, those in the power can focus more on governance.
Monday, April 17, 2023 at 10:48 am