PUNE: The Phursungi and Uruli Devachi areas, located on Pune-Saswad Road ahead of Hadapsar, will finally get a separate municipal council of their own, years after a demerger demand was made.
State govt on Wednesday issued a final notification to exclude these areas from PMC limits, and to constitute a separate joint Phursungi Uruli Devachi Municipal Council.
The two areas were part of the 11 villages in total merged into Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits in 2017.
Earlier, govt had invited suggestions and objections over the proposal for a demerger, following which the decision of excluding the areas has been announced.
Govt has now also announced the appointment of tehsildar of Purandar, Vikram Rajput, as an administrator of the municipal council till the body is duly constituted.
While declaring the demerger, govt excluded the area of the waste depot in these villages, which will remain with PMC.
The proposal of forming a separate municipal council for Phursungi and Uruli Devachi has been in process since last year. State govt had issued a notification in March 2023 for the exclusion of the areas, which was challenged in the Bombay high court.
Former Purandar Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and Shiv Sena leader Vijay Shivtare, who is also a close associate of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, had pushed forward the demerger proposal, claiming that the inclusion of Phursungi and Uruli Devachi into PMC limits was not benefiting residents of the areas.
According to the demerger proposal, residents of these areas were unable to pay hefty property tax bills to PMC, and the villages were in turn not getting adequate funds for infrastructure and other development works.
Local citizens said they are still deprived of proper development and civic amenities, despite being part of PMC for the last seven years. “Be it with PMC or a separate municipal council, we want better roads and proper development,” said local resident Viraj Thorat.
Thorat elaborated, “Water availability has been poor and many pockets of Phursungi and Uruli Devachi are still not getting proper supply. Water supply schemes are incomplete. On the other hand, the population has been on the rise.”
Another resident, Amol Ghule, said, “Govt should also make a provision for adequate funds along with formation of this council to ensure that citizens receive better civic amenities and services.”
An official from PMC, choosing anonymity, told TOI that some infrastructure works are underway in the two areas, such as for water supply and sundry road works. The civic official said, “The administration will seek guidance from the state urban development department on the further execution of these works.”
