Pune: In an ambitious plan Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA) will be developing the State's first Town Planning (TP) scheme at Mhalunge-Maan area. A workshop was held on Sunday for the landowners who would be giving their lands for development to make them understand the details of the TP. The workshop was attended by District Guardian Minister Girish Bapat who on the occasion assured the landowners that they will be given double the Floor Space Index (FSI) than their current one.
Bapat said the land owners need not worry about their land which will be acquired by PMRDA. PMRDA will be acquiring 50 per cent of the land possessed by the landowner. Bapat said, "Once the area is developed, the land prices will go up substantially which will benefit landowners."
Around 1,000 landowners of Mhalunge-Maan attended the workshop.
According to PMRDA Commissioner Kiran Gite, the TP scheme will be implemented in the next two years while the budget allocated for it is Rs 400 crore. Gite added, “Of the 50 per cent land acquired from the landowners, 16 per cent will be used for road development, 10 per cent for playground, 10 per cent for other amenities like school and parking. Around 3,500 residential houses will be built for the underprivileged and the rest of the houses will be auctioned.”
He added, “There are 750 landowners with 7/12 extracts with them. Mhalunge-Maan comes in no development zone, but we will be converting the zone. We have asked for suggestions and objections from the landowners. It will be addressed individually. If everything goes smoothly, after three months new 7/12 extract will be given to these landowners. After that the area will be measured again.”
“As per the new FSI, the nine metre-wide roads will be converted into 12 metres. Our main focus will be on water supply, road development, electricity and drainage,” Gite added.
Unhappy landowners
However, the landowners are unhappy with PMRDA's plan. Speaking to Sakal Times, Mohan Kamble, a landowner at Mhalunge, said, “I am completely dependent on the three acres of agricultural land I have. There is no other way of earning livelihood for me and thus I cannot share my land with them. I will talk to the officials before taking any decision."
Another landowner spoke of the court cases he has concerning his land. Varun Kolekar from Mhalunge said, “I doubt PMRDA can acquire my land as there are many court cases on it. And even if they say that FSI will be increased, the land will be used only for residential purpose which might turned to be problematic for us.”
Sanket Ghule expressed similar concerns. He said, “PMRDA has made all plans of development for buildings and companies, but there are no plans for plantation of trees. We need to know what variety of trees they are going to plant in front of our houses."
