The Maharashtra government has asked the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for its opinion about the formation of a new municipal corporation for Hadapsar and Wagholi areas or a separate municipal council for Wagholi. However, the residents of both the areas have a mixed view on this.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Hadapsar MLA Chetan Tupe, said, "The demand for a separate municipal corporation for Hadapsar and Wagholi is right as our area lacks basic infrastructure, good road connectivity but the decision should be made only after a detailed and academic study of the geographical areas, the population and the other factors like the total tax generated from that area, after making a new corporation how will the water be distributed, will that be looked by PMC - there are a lot of factors which determine whether the area can have a seperate corporation. Everything should be planned properly before making a decision. In my view, having a separate corporation will help the area to develop and will also stop the illegal construction in the suburbs."
Sudarshan Ambekar, resident of Meadows Mystique Society, Wagholi, expressed his frustration over the lack of infrastructural development in the area despite its merging with PMC in 2018. "We want Wagholi to have a separate municipal corporation or it should remain a gram panchayat because despite merging with the PMC our area remains underdeveloped. The area has four basic demands - road, water, garbage disposal and drainage, and nobody in the administration understands the gravity of the situation here. Forget about getting a flyover and other amenities. PMC has failed to provide the basic infrastructure. We don't have a proper garbage disposal facility due to which residents are falling sick. Kharadi is a commercial area because of IT parks and Wagholi is a residential area because it is cost effective but we feel stuck buying a property here because it doesn't even provide us with clean drinking water. Road safety is another big issue in this area."
Sanjeev Patil, Director, Wagholi Housing Association, said, " The PMC is overloaded and is not able to cater to our area and we are being treated as second-grade citizens and we need to have a local representative and have our own corporation. Our area has schools, colleges and other bigger establishments which makes it a residential area but due to lack of facilities, people are having a hard time and planning to migrate. Once the facilities are provided this area will also prosper."
Anil Sonawane, a resident of Hadapsar, said, "The question is not about having a separate corporation, it's about the intent of the administration. If a new corporation is formed will it guarantee for us to provide everything that we are deprived of? These areas have a population of more than ten lakh people, but we still lack infrastructure. The government hasn't done a census since 2011, do we have a record on paper of how many people reside in this area? No, we don't so having a separate corporation shouldn't be the topic of discussion, they should first understand the basic demographic and other issues of the people to decide what is good for the people."
Recently, the Maharashtra government reduced the area under PMC jurisdiction by excluding Uruli Devachi and Fursungi villages from the civic body to constitute a separate municipal council for them. The state government issued a notification saying that after it consulted with the PMC and took suggestions and objections into consideration as per law, the limits of PMC were altered to exclude the areas of Uruli Devachi and Fursungi from it.
