Pune: Hinjawadi Residents In IT Hub Still Struggling For Basic Amenities

The thousands of IT workers who reside in the opulent towers nearby are without power, water, waste management, traffic control, security or other essential infrastructure since the elected officials have failed to give it.

4 May 2024

By Khushi Maheshwari

Home to more than 5 Lakh IT employees, the Hinjewadi IT park area is one of the country’s largest IT hubs. Yet the residents marinate in dismay as much of their basic needs like water, traffic regulation, waste management, etc. go unnoticed and unattended to by the corporations. 

There are three phases to the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, which consists of 150-200 IT companies, the majority of which are global enterprises. Real estate in the area around the IT Park increased, and in the neighbouring villages of Hinjawadi, Mahalunge, Maan, Marunji, Punawale and Wakad, a number of aristocratic societies and towers appeared.

The employees of the IT park come under the category of highest tax-paying individuals and yet, have to struggle for bare minimum infrastructure in their area. 

The techies typically reside in areas and villages which fall under the Baramati constituency. Essentially the administration has the following divisions: 

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)

Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) 

Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC)

Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA)

Gram-Panchayat

As of yet, all the elected corporators have neglected the residents’ needs and demands and have failed to build the most fundamental infrastructure required to sustain liveable conditions in a place. 

Many IT employees voiced their concerns — Pavanjit Mane talked about how even in sky high towers, there is no water that the corporation provides; they have to entirely depend on tankers and purchase water at expensive rates. The locals say that the pavements are obstructed by unauthorised street vendors and apart from those, there is a pressing lack of pavements. 

Other issues raised by different techies include frequent and consistent power outages, lack of planning in the area, the inefficiency of the newly constructed underpass, and so on. 

The employees have become scornful with the living conditions in the area and doubt that any elected official would cater to even providing these basic amenities to them since these have been overlooked for a really long time.