Officials say the drive that was initiated on Jan 7 after police protection was made available has been extremely successful and has faced little resistance
More than 37,000 square feet of area has been cleared of unauthorised constructions over the past two weeks in the latest drive by Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).
According to the sources in the civic body, the authority swung into action because of availability of police force, which was occupied elsewhere last year.
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Razing the roof: The massive anti-encroachment drive at Kalewadi on January 11. file pic
“We are not facing any kind of political pressure or opposition from people unlike Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials, who are confronted by major opposition during anti-encroachment drives in the city,” said spokesperson of engineering department of PCMC, Shirish Poredi. He added that people residing in illegal constructions in PCMC’s jurisdiction are aware that resistance is fruitless, as the authority will do its duty at any cost.
Poredi informed that the mammoth drive kicked off on January 7 and unauthorised constructions that have been felled include both residential and commercial ones.
“A massive demolition was held on January 11, where we razed a four-storey building along with parking area in Kalewadi, which was built over 21,896 square feet in a restricted zone meant for flood victims,” Poredi said.
Elaborating about this massive campaign, Poredi said that last year the police force was unavailable because of festivals and other security purposes. Similarly, PCMC commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi was out of the country for official training, which had slowed down the entire drive.
“We have now swung into the action and haven’t faced any kind of opposition or protest, as residents have realised that PCMC officials would not spare anyone indulging in unauthorised constructions,” Poredi said.
PMC drive gives woman heart attack
MiD DAY had reported on January 17 (‘Seeing her house being razed, woman suffers heart attack’) about a 54-year-old widow from Ashrafnagar in Kondhwa suffered a massive heart attack, traumatised to see her home being razed by the anti-encroachment cell of PMC. Rehmatbi Dundage was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital. The woman’s brother alleged that PMC officials didn’t even serve the family a notice and came to their house in the afternoon after demolishing a few others in the area. u00a0
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