The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is working towards expediting the town planning (TP) schemes in Holkarwadi in association with the district administration for getting land acquisition for a proposed ring road. The plan is being implemented to improve connectivity through better roads and reduce traffic jam in the whole of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad area. The civic body has also assigned a new arbitrator to speed up the process and the issues of the landowners, maps, and land reservations.
The decision has come at a time when there are town planning projects in Uruli Devachi and Phursungi, and all are under administrative logjams. The civic body is working on new schemes in Holkarwadi; the previously undertaken projects are yet to take off due to jurisdiction and other issues.
Holkarwadi Town Planning Schemes to Support Ring Road Development.
The state department of urban development in Maharashtra has appointed an arbitrator for the Holkarwadi Town Planning Scheme Nos. 4 and 5. These two schemes are for an area of 158.19 hectares and 130.78 hectares respectively. These schemes are also critical in getting 19.61 hectares of land for the proposed ring road.
The ring road will help to ease the flow of traffic across Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad by providing another road network and easing the pressure on the existing roads. Town planning schemes will ensure the authorities can co-ordinate the division of land parcels, visualise the road alignments and reserve land for development.
As per the administrative orders, PMC has been instructed to be neutral to provide the arbitrator with an independent office space and logistical support to enable an expeditious conduct of the arbitration proceedings.
The civic body has been given directions by the municipal corporation to ensure the facilities are made available, a senior civic official said. Landowners' concerns should ease and the schemes should be implemented more swiftly.
Pravin Shende, PMC superintending engineer, said that the arbitrator would start the process of implementation and landowner discussions on scheme maps, land reservations. This discussion will help solve the pending problems, and the town planning process will move forward.
Pune's Town Planning Initiatives and Earlier Projects
There is a long legacy of Pune's use of town planning schemes for orderly development of the city. The first town planning schemes in Pune were implemented in 1915, during British rule. Eight of these town planning schemes were in operation in various parts of the city from 1939 to 1989 in Deccan Gultekdi Parvati Sangamwadi Mangalwar Peth and Hadapsar Industrial Estate.
They co-ordinated the development of urban infrastructure and the spatial allocation of land uses in various zones of the city. Town planning activities slowed down much in the coming decades with no major projects being taken up for almost four decades.
Reviving the mechanism in PMC launched town planning schemes on over 600 hectares in Uruli Devachi and Phursungi. This was the first major move by the civic body to resuscitate the mechanism after many decades.
The schemes would be to help the growth of planned urbanization with the erection of roads, water supply systems, drainage, and sewerage lines, parks, and playgrounds, school, and government hospitals.
The intention was to provide developing areas with basic infrastructure from urban expansion and not to rely on a volume of later infrastructure projects.
Uruli Devachi and Phursungi Schemes Face Administrative Delays.
Despite the initial progress, the follow-up action on the town planning schemes of Uruli Devachi and Phursungi have not taken place yet, and have been stuck for reasons of jurisdiction.
Based on PMC data, the proposed schemes encompass two areas in Phursungi, measuring 260.67 hectares and 238.50 hectares respectively, while the scheme in Uruli Devachi spans 109.78 hectares. These projects are part of a broader town planning initiative covering over 600 hectares.
These schemes should enable the building of roads, public utilities and other civic infrastructure in these expanding towns. But the schemes have been hindered by disagreements over administrative jurisdiction.
This compelled the locals to make a demand on the authorities to resolve these issues and restart the works. The projects should be resumed at the earliest. On top of that, the jurisdiction-related issues in these projects and the implementation of the town planning schemes need to be dealt with appropriately, as per Vishal Harpale, the local corporator and resident of Uruli-Phursungi as ET
Focus on Planned Urban Development in Pune
By fast-tracking the Holkarwadi schemes PMC has taken a step to initiate the infrastructure development through town planning authorities. Land acquisition for the proposed ring road is one of the major goal, while the larger planning process itself will enable structured urban development.
The success or otherwise of schemes for Holkarwadi and the quantum of work done on remaining projects for Uruli Devachi and Phursungi will hinge on land-related issues, the cooperation of land-owners and administrative clearances.
The schemes would contribute towards development of road infrastructure and civic facilities in underdeveloped zones of the city. Their timely implementation would be crucial in ensuring that infrastructure projects proposed under the schemes could translate into better urban connectivity and civic amenities.
