PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has planned to demolish 46 wadas under its jurisdiction. The decision has been taken in view of the upcoming rainy season, as these properties are in dilapidated condition and dangerous to live in. Besides, they pose a threat to accidents and mishaps.
Many of the rundown wadas were located at prime locations in the heart of the city, including peth areas such as Ganesh Peth, Ganj Peth, Somwar Peth, Kasba Peth, Ghorpade Peth, Mangalwar Peth, and nearby locations. “The civic administration has appealed to the occupants to vacate these properties and cooperate with PMC. A review of it was taken at the pre-monsoon preparedness meeting,” said Rajendra Bhosale, administrator of PMC.
PMC officials said that they carried out the survey in association with a private firm last year. In the survey, most of the most dangerous structures were kept in the C1 category, while those in need of major repairs were kept in the C2 category, and those requiring minor repairs were kept in the C3 category.
The civic body keeps an eye on C2 wadas. If their structural strength deteriorates, the civic administration orders a demolition.
However, PMC has so far failed to take action against these wadas. It has now sought police intervention and demolish these properties.
“This is due to opposition from the occupants and legal complications. Some tenants are not vacating the properties despite repeated warnings. We will now seek police intervention,” said a senior official of PMC.
The official added that one of the key reasons the tenants continue to occupy the properties was the dispute between them and the owners. They fear they would lose their claim on the property if they vacate and would not get if the wada is redeveloped.
The residents meanwhile say that many of them are not willing to leave the property because they didn’t have the financial capacity.
“Many tenants represent financially weaker sections of society. It is not affordable for many of them to pay rent. So despite the property being very dilapidated, they prefer to stay on the same property,” said Ashwini Deshpande, a resident of Somwar Peth.
Few takers for tenancy certificates
Civic officials said the tenancy certificate, which is PMC’s one-of-a-kind initiative that assures rights to tenants of dilapidated wadas, was not receiving acceptance. Only 400 certificates were given out, and almost twice as many tenants decided not to opt for them.
Doubts about its utility, legal value, and the fear of losing rights to residence in the wadas or redeveloped building after moving out have kept the certificates unpopular. The PMC had started issuing these certificates to the tenants seven years ago with the aim of resolving legal battles between the owners of the wadas and their occupants.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) issued 1,709 building permissions in 2023-24 as compared to 956 in the previous financial year.
