Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has moved a proposal to expand the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial in Mangalwar Peth by acquiring a two-acre plot owned by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). The proposal aims to preserve the land for public use and prevent its commercial development.
The proposal, which was earlier approved by the City Improvement Committee, has now received the Standing Committee's approval and will be placed before the General Body. It recommends that the plot's Public and Semi-Public (PSP) reservation should remain unchanged under any law and that the state government should approve the expansion of the memorial.
The land was originally reserved for public and semi-public purposes. However, the state government later changed the reservation to allow a commercial project by the MSRDC. Construction work had begun, but members of the backward communities protested, arguing that the land adjoins Ambedkar Bhavan and should instead be used for its expansion.
The proposed expansion includes facilities such as a student hostel, library, training centre, public utility projects and the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Cultural Bhavan. The project aims to support the education and empowerment of students and members of the backward communities.
The Standing Committee has also recommended that the state government provide ₹25 crore during the current financial year to carry out the project. It further suggested that the required legal process to retain the land's reservation in the development plan should be completed at the government level.
The proposal states that if the state government does not release the funds by October, the PMC should begin the project using its own budget. It also recommends that the state government take a decision on the proposal within 30 days.
Once approved by the General Body, the proposal will be forwarded to the Maharashtra government, requesting that the land continue to remain reserved for public purposes and be used exclusively for the expansion of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial.
