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Indian Express
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
50,000 suggestions, objections pour in for PCMC's draft DP
Even as the process of receiving suggestions and objections to the draft Development Plan of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation ended on Monday, it has emerged that there is 'hope' for aggrieved citizens as the civic administration reserves the right to accept or reject their views. By July 14, around 50,000 suggestions and objections were collectively received by the Town Planning Department and the Development Plan Unit of the state government. 'We have received 49,570 suggestions and objections directly from citizens. We feel there are 400-500 suggestions and objections which have come online. So the figure could go up well beyond 50,000,' said a civic official. 'Most of the 50,000 submissions include objections by the citizens, activists and politicians to the reservations made by the DP Unit of the state government,' he added. Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh said, 'Now that the suggestions and objections have been received, the state government will appoint a planning committee through the director of town planning. The objections and suggestions will be placed before the Planning Committee….The committee will take the final decision and intimate it to the citizens. The decisions are then placed before the general body of the civic administration. The general body then takes decision on the objections and changes suggested by the planning committee…' The municipal commissioner said the general body has the right to accept or reject the changes or decisions taken by the planning committee. 'The general body has the final powers…After the general body takes the decision, it will go for approval before the state government,' the PCMC chief said. Civic officials said currently, the general body is headed by the municipal commissioner. When asked about this, the PCMC chief said, 'GB will take the final decision…,' while refusing to comment further. Officials said if the hearing is completed by the planning committee before the ensuing civic elections or before the Model Code of Conduct for civic polls comes into effect, the PCMC will get the opportunity to take a call on the planning committee decisions. 'If the process is not completed before the civic elections, then the new general body, which will have elected corporators, will take the final call,' officials said. For last two months, citizens in Pimpri-Chinchwad have been protesting against the draft DP as it threatens to bring down their homes constructed years ago. The reservations in the draft DP have drawn severe criticism from political leaders, activists and citizens. The reservations made by the DP Unit drew flak even from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who said under no circumstances will a slaughterhouse come up near the temple town of Alandi. A reservation for this facility has been made in the PCMC's draft development plan. Several other reservations like the plan for a bus depot and other facilities near Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar statue in Pimpri also drew criticism. Over 5,000 residents in Wakad, Thergaon and nearby areas have also protested the plan for a ring road which was to pass through their society premises. The 'wrong marking' of the floodline near the rivers also was debunked by activists. Seema Sawale, former chairperson of the PCMC's standing committee, who first raised the objections regarding the DP reservations for a slaughterhouse near Alandi, told The Indian Express, 'The draft DP is in favour of the rich and is against the poor and the middle-class. We hope the CM will scrap it and take action against those who made objectionable reservations.' The PCMC has been contending that it's role was limited to making suggestions and conveying the needs of the city to the DP unit. 'The municipal commissioner or the civic administration is not involved where individual reservations are concerned. That is the prerogative of the DP Unit. The municipal commissioner's responsbility is to ensure the needs of the city are properly reflected in the development plan and are conveyed to the DP Unit,' said a civic official. After the slaughterhouse reservation came to light, the PCMC had to clarify that it had suggested to the DP unit to make reservation for a slaughterhouse but not near Alandi. 'The decision for reserving the plot of land for slaughterhouse near Alandi was taken by the DP Unit itself apparently after their own surveys,' said a PCMC official. When asked whether the DP Unit had interacted with them before making reservations in the draft DP, Prasad Gaikwad, Deputy Director of Town Planning, said, 'We were not consulted neither informed about it. The DP Unit took the decisions after their own surveys…' On Tuesday, despite repeated calls, chief of the DP Unit Anupama Kulkarni did not respond. Earlier, she had said the reservations in the draft DP were not final. 'There is a long process involved in preparing the final DP,' she had said.
Indian Express
09-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Now Pimpri Chinchwad residents can reserve parking space on WhatsApp
In a significant step towards digital governance, PCMC on Tuesday launched its WhatsApp-based 'Pay and Park' facility during the civic standing committee meeting. The initiative, inaugurated by municipal commissioner Shekhar Singh, enables people to reserve parking spaces through WhatsApp without the need for paper tickets or manual processes. Currently operational at 10 key locations in the city, the system allows real-time booking under the user's name for a specific time slot. If the vehicle isn't parked within the reserved time, the slot is automatically released and made available to others. Users receive instant notifications, making the process transparent and time-efficient, officials said. The system offers seamless access to booking status, real-time availability, and smart alerts—all through WhatsApp, officials said. According to joint city engineer for urban mobility Bapu Gaikwad, the service will not only ease parking hassles for citizens but also enhance overall traffic management in Pimpri Chinchwad. The standing committee meeting was held at the Late Mayor Madhukar Pawale Hall at the Main Administrative Building in Pimpri. It was chaired by Shekhar Singh, and attended by additional commissioners Pradip Jambhale Patil, Vijaykumar Khorate, Trupti Sandbhor and key department heads among others.
Indian Express
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Indian Express
Citizens cite traffic snarls on Pune-Mumbai highway
Amid demands to dismantle the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), especially on the Pune-Mumbai Highway to avoid traffic congestion, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation termed the bus system as 'efficient', while claiming that it has 'transformed daily travel and eased life for the commuters'. According to the administration, the BRTS provides 7,389 trips daily across five corridors, with over 3.6 lakh daily passengers, ensuring buses at every 90 seconds. 'At a time when urban transport systems are under pressure, Pimpri Chinchwad has shown how timely infrastructure investments in BRTS can transform daily commutes,' said PCMC Commissioner Shekhar Singh. 'With one bus available every 90 seconds and reliable travel times, our BRTS is not only easing congestion but also setting the foundation for sustainable, people-centric mobility,' he added. The Nigdi–Dapodi corridor is the backbone of the network, facilitating over 1.5 lakh passengers daily, he said. The corridor connects major destinations including the PCMC Head Office, Swargate, and Shivaji Nagar. Between 6 am and 8 am, BRTS carries 2,000 to 3,000 passengers per hour on this route, the civic administration said. However, advocate Sushil Mancharkar, who has been demanding the scrapping of the BRTS route on the Pune-Mumbai highway said, 'The highway right from Nigdi to Dapodi has become a chaotic one. There is Metro service, BRTS service. At some places, there are no footpaths. Mechanics have opened their shops on the side of the highway, and there are other vehicles parked there. The traffic congestion reaches its peak between 4 pm and 10 pm. Motorists and two-wheeler riders are enduring the nightmare of long snarls and jam for years. If BRTS is removed on this stretch, I think it will ease the traffic congestion.' Iklas Sayeed, a political worker from Akurdi said, the PCMC's top priority should be dismantling the BRTS. 'There are constant traffic snarls on the highway. On top of it, there are encroachments on the stretch from Nashik Phata to Phugewadi. Both PCMC and traffic police have failed to do anything for years.' The administration, however, said that buses — one in every 2 to 2.5 minutes — are frequent even on other north-south corridors like Dighi–Alandi and Sangvi–Kiwale . In comparison, the Kalewadi–Chikhali and Nashik Phata–Wakad corridors — which run along the east–west axis — see lower ridership and operate at a frequency of one bus in every 5 to 6 minutes during peak hours, officials said. 'These corridors may seem underutilised today, but we've planned them based on long-term mobility forecasts,' said Bapu Gaikwad, Head of PCMC's Urban Mobility Department. Seema Sawale, former chairperson of PCMC standing committee, said that PCMC and the traffic police should listen to the grievances of the people. 'Citizens and activists are demanding the scrapping of the BRTS route, especially on the highway to ease the traffic.. Why does the PCMC and traffic not experiment by removing some of the BRTS stretches? For instance, PCMC can remove the stretch between Sandvik company and Kasarwadi subway, between HA, Pimpri and Nashik Phata signal… We need to be dynamic and flexible,' Sawale said. On the other hand, the PCMC administration claimed that it was actively working, in collaboration with PMPML, to increase the fleet size to help reduce waiting time. Officials also said that a 10-km commute takes just 20 minutes on BRTS, compared to 50 minutes without a dedicated lane. Additionally, BRTS enables more efficient fleet management. Without dedicated corridors, PMPML would need to deploy nearly twice the number of buses to maintain the same service levels — a major challenge given the current shortfall of around 2,700 buses, officials said. According to an analysis by ITDP India, around 96% of Pimpri Chinchwad's population lives within 500 metres of a bus stop, making BRTS an accessible travel option. 'Our user surveys have found that a major segment of passengers on Nigdi-Dapodi are students of the age group 18-25. They make up 47% of the passengers. Other users earn less than Rs 20,000 per month, making it crucial for the city to retain this high-quality transit infrastructure,' said Aditya Rane, senior associate, Transport Systems and Electric Mobility, ITDP India. Civic chief Singh said that the development of the BRTS in Pimpri Chinchwad is strongly aligned with the National Urban Transport Policy (2006), which prioritises the movement of people over vehicles. Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades. Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives. Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees. During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa. Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died. Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More
Indian Express
02-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
PCMC showcases inclusive urban planning to civic officials from UP, Maharashtra
Senior officials from municipal corporations across Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra visited Pimpri-Chinchwad on Wednesday as part of a technical exchange and study tour focused on sustainable urban mobility and inclusive infrastructure planning. Organised at the Auto Cluster auditorium in Chinchwad, the session served as a platform for in-depth dialogue and learning around non-motorised transport (NMT) planning, inclusive street design, and environment-friendly urban development. Addressing the gathering, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh underlined the need to reimagine roads not merely as conduits for vehicles, but as equitable, safe and accessible public spaces for all citizens. 'Urban road planning often focuses narrowly on easing congestion for vehicles, but roads must also serve pedestrians, cyclists, senior citizens, children, and persons with disabilities. A truly progressive city is one where streets are safe, inclusive and vibrant for every user,' Singh said. He emphasised that infrastructure interventions such as footpaths and widened roads are only part of the solution. Initiatives like Harit Setu and Urban Streetscape go beyond beautification—they are steps toward reclaiming public spaces for communities, encouraging walking, cycling, and active public life. Singh also highlighted the need for cities to explore new financial models for sustainable urban development. He cited PCMC's pioneering move of issuing Maharashtra's first Green Bond to raise Rs 200 crore, which is now being utilised for the Harit Setu project in the Pradhikaran area. 'Cities must see streets not just as engineering projects but as investments into public health, environmental quality, and future urban resilience,' Singh said. He further pointed out that concepts such as low emission zones are now gradually being implemented, and called on municipal bodies to actively pursue such transformative ideas. The officials were also taken on a study visit to various sites across the city to observe on-ground implementation of mobility and streetscape projects. These included traffic management systems on the Mumbai–Pune Highway, the PCCOE Patil Road, the pilot segment of Harit Setu, among others. At each location, the delegation received briefings on the planning rationale, technical design, and community impact of the projects. A comprehensive presentation was also delivered during the session, covering PCMC's Integrated Command and Control Centre, inclusive road planning strategies, non-motorised transport corridors, and the city's efforts to prioritise liveability and sustainability in urban design. The visit concluded with positive feedback from participating officials, who expressed appreciation for PCMC's long-term, people-first approach to urban infrastructure and its willingness to share best practices with peer cities. The visiting delegation included Gaurav Kumar, Commissioner of Lucknow Municipal Corporation; Sudhir Kumar, Commissioner of Kanpur Municipal Corporation; Jayendra Kumar, Commissioner of Ayodhya Municipal Corporation; Sipu Giri, Commissioner of Saharanpur Municipal Corporation; Arvind Kumar Srivastava, Deputy CEO of the Urban Road Development Department of Uttar Pradesh; and Pradeep Chaudhary, Additional Commissioner of Nashik Municipal Corporation. From PCMC, the session was attended by Chief Engineers Sanjay Kulkarni and Pramod Ombase; Joint City Engineer Bapusaheb Gaikwad; Deputy Commissioner Anna Bodade; Special Duty Officer Kiran Gaikwad; Assistant Commissioner Umesh Dhakane; Executive Engineers Sunil Pawar and Abhiman Bhosale; IT Officer Sudhir Borude; and Public Relations Officer Prafull Puranik.
Time of India
01-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
PCMC's property tax collection in first quarter stands at Rs522cr
1 2 3 Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has achieved record-breaking property tax collection in the first quarter of the 2025-26 financial year. This is largely due to the effective use of data from its "City Hub for Data Communication" (CHDC) project. In the first 90 days, the PCMC has collected Rs522 crore towards property tax, which is over 50% of the total tax revenue earned in the last fiscal year. Last year, the civic body reached the Rs500-crore-mark only by Oct. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune This strong start has the PCMC aiming for an unprecedented annual collection. In the 2024-25 financial year, the PCMC had collected Rs965.71 crore in property tax, compared to the record-setting Rs977 crore in 2023-24. Launched earlier this year in Feb, the CHDC project is touted as the first-of-its-kind in India. It empowers the municipal corporation to analyze data and implement data-driven solutions. Civic officials claim that only New York (United States of America) and Tel Aviv (Israel) have similar projects effectively implemented so far. The CHDC has enabled data-driven planning, real-time analysis of defaulters, and the identification of area-specific tax response patterns. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Avinash Shinde, assistant municipal commissioner and head of the PCMC's property tax department, said the civic body used data to segregate taxpayers who historically preferred to pay their dues at the end of the financial year instead of paying it every quarter. "The frequency of reminder messages to these property owners was increased from April with information about additional discounts like 10% concession on general tax for online payment and 2% more for paying their dues in time for three consecutive years. This helped us push them to pay their dues quarterly," he said. "Strategic planning by the tax department, use of data through the CHDC, door-to-door delivery of bills via self-help groups, and effective public communication have all contributed to crossing the Rs522 crore mark in record time," municipal commissioner Shekhar Singh said. Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has achieved record-breaking property tax collection in the first quarter of the 2025-26 financial year. This is largely due to the effective use of data from its "City Hub for Data Communication" (CHDC) project. In the first 90 days, the PCMC has collected Rs522 crore towards property tax, which is over 50% of the total tax revenue earned in the last fiscal year. Last year, the civic body reached the Rs500-crore-mark only by Oct. This strong start has the PCMC aiming for an unprecedented annual collection. In the 2024-25 financial year, the PCMC had collected Rs965.71 crore in property tax, compared to the record-setting Rs977 crore in 2023-24. Launched earlier this year in Feb, the CHDC project is touted as the first-of-its-kind in India. It empowers the municipal corporation to analyze data and implement data-driven solutions. Civic officials claim that only New York (United States of America) and Tel Aviv (Israel) have similar projects effectively implemented so far. The CHDC has enabled data-driven planning, real-time analysis of defaulters, and the identification of area-specific tax response patterns. Avinash Shinde, assistant municipal commissioner and head of the PCMC's property tax department, said the civic body used data to segregate taxpayers who historically preferred to pay their dues at the end of the financial year instead of paying it every quarter. "The frequency of reminder messages to these property owners was increased from April with information about additional discounts like 10% concession on general tax for online payment and 2% more for paying their dues in time for three consecutive years. This helped us push them to pay their dues quarterly," he said. "Strategic planning by the tax department, use of data through the CHDC, door-to-door delivery of bills via self-help groups, and effective public communication have all contributed to crossing the Rs522 crore mark in record time," municipal commissioner Shekhar Singh said. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
