PUNE: The civic administration started demolition of properties in the green belt along DP Road between Mhatre bridge and Karvenagar on Thursday, a day after the Bombay HC refused a stay on action against such structures.
Commercial establishments, including marriage halls, eateries, and other properties, were targeted during the drive conducted by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
“PMC had carried out the action in these areas earlier as well. However, action could not be taken against some of these establishments during the previous drives because of some legal battles. Operators and owners of some of these properties had moved court against the previous action. The high court ruled in favour of PMC, after which the demolition was done,” said Bipin Shinde, an executive engineer in the PMC’s building permission department.
Civic officials said 15 properties were demolished during the drive on Thursday. The illegal constructions, including tin sheds and concrete structures spread over 90,000 sq ft, were razed in the action.
The high court bench consisting of Justice M S Sonak and Justice Kamal Khata on Wednesday heard the petition filed by owners and occupants of properties at the green belt demanding interim relief. They had requested the court for directives including “quashing and setting aside the demolition notices” issued by PMC. Other demands by the petitioners included terming the demolition act as “illegal and bad in law”.
After hearing both the petitioners and respondent, the bench directed “given the gross facts discussed above and the fact that interim orders were obtained in most of these petitions by suppressing material facts about the demolition of the petitioner’s structures by the authorities by following the due process of the law, and the petitioners reconstructing such structures by defying the due process of the law, no such extension can be granted”.
A PMC official said the directives for removing the encroachments were repeatedly issued by the high court and other legal authorities. The administration has carried out action after the orders. Earlier, the PMC conducted a special drive to remove the unauthorised construction in the flood line of the Mutha river in 2017. It was held after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) bench here had ordered demolition or removal of structures in the floodline. Apart from demolition, NGT had also imposed heavy fines for the dumping done by marriage halls and lawns within the blue floodline of the Mutha river on the DP road between Mhatre and Rajaram bridges.
After that, the civic body again conducted an anti-encroachment drive at a popular eat-out destination at the same location in 2022 and 2023. Illegal constructions spread over 4 lakh sq ft were demolished in a day in 2022 and 1 lakh sq ft was razed in 2023. The PMC had then given a caveat in all cases at the district court as well as in the high court to avoid any obstacle in the drive.
During those drives, kitchens set up at front and side margins of popular restaurants, lawns and marriage halls were demolished . A food hub, which has restaurants and cafes offering a variety of cuisines, is frequented by foodies in large numbers every day. It attracts huge footfall during weekends and marriage season. The establishments also organise exhibitions, music concerts and cultural events.
A number of citizens, including social activists, have approached courts and NGT to curb the constructions in green belt. A cooperative housing society, located on the 100-ft DP road between Mhatre and Rajaram bridges, had approached NGT against alleged environmental degradation and pollution by marriage halls and lawns on the road. The society had charged in its petition that these establishments put up encroachments on the designated green belt within the blue flood line along the Mutha river bed.
