Massive Irregularities in Floodline Markings of Revised DP to Favour Influential Landowners: Seema Sawale
Massive Irregularities in Floodline Markings of Revised DP to Favour Influential Landowners: Seema Sawale
Pimpri, May 28: Former Standing Committee Chairperson Seema Sawale has levelled serious allegations against the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), claiming that the recently published Revised Development Plan (DP) has been crafted primarily to serve the interests of wealthy and influential individuals. She highlighted a shocking manipulation of floodline boundaries in the DP, allegedly done to safeguard properties owned by powerful landowners along the Pavana, Indrayani, and Mula rivers.
Sawale pointed out stark discrepancies between the floodlines shown in cross-sectional maps prepared by the Irrigation Department and those depicted in the revised DP for areas like Moshi, Chikhali, Pimple Saudagar, Rahatani, and Kiwale. While homes of labourers in Chikhali were demolished under the claim of being within the floodline, she alleged that floodline markings were deliberately altered to exclude influential individuals’ lands in the same situation — exposing a blatant case of double standards and corruption within PCMC, she said. Sawale has demanded a detailed investigation and immediate filing of a criminal case, appealing directly to the Chief Minister.
The Water Resources Department (formerly the Irrigation Department) had created accurate cross-sectional maps after on-ground surveys of the Pavana, Indrayani, and Mula rivers, demarcating the Blue Line (25-year floodplain) and Red Line (100-year floodplain). According to regulations, construction is strictly prohibited within the Blue Line area. Though the revised DP claims to have followed these official maps, Sawale revealed clear cases of manipulation.
She cited examples such as Survey Nos. 1670 and 281 in Chikhali, Survey Nos. 58, 59, 60, 75, 76, and 77 in Moshi, Survey Nos. 105, 102, 101, 100, and 99 in Rahatani, Survey No. 182 in Pimple Saudagar, and Survey Nos. 55 and 56 in Kiwale. As per the Irrigation Department, these areas fall within the floodplain, yet in the revised DP they have been shown outside the Blue Line, effectively shielding these plots from flood-zone regulations.
Sawale warned that this is not the first time PCMC has colluded with politicians, bureaucrats, and builders to exploit the common people. In a previous case involving the Chinchwad area, a forged map was created showing a different floodline than the one officially issued by the Irrigation Department — a move that resulted in conflicting data for the same area.
Bulldozers for Chikhali’s Poor, Protection for the Rich
Sawale also condemned the recent demolition of homes in Chikhali, built painstakingly over the years by working-class families, citing floodline violations. “The administration heartlessly bulldozed these homes without an ounce of compassion,” she said. PCMC Commissioner Shekhar Singh recently reiterated plans to take action against 2,534 illegal constructions within floodlines. However, Sawale alleged that in contrast, areas like Pimple Saudagar saw floodline alterations made to safeguard wealthy landowners’ properties.
She concluded by stating that such double standards are a reflection of the PCMC’s deteriorating governance and growing corruption.
