Pune : PMRDA to have DP hearing only after consent from high court

Commissioner Rahul Mahiwal of the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) stated on Friday that the chief minister’s development plan (DP) authority meeting will only happen if the Bombay high court approves it.

Mahiwal stated they intend to request the aforementioned consent as soon as possible by filing an affidavit with the HC in less than two weeks.

The clearance of the DP for an area of about 7,000 sq km will be further delayed by the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, according to sources from the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA), if the hearing is not expedited.

According to a PMRDA official, this delay could push the entire exercise until after the elections, since the Lok Sabha polls are scheduled for a few months from now. They are hoping the court will give them permission to run the meeting.

Prior to this, CM Eknath Shinde of the state government scheduled the draft DP authority meeting for January 24. But it was rescheduled.

In accordance with the court’s instructions, the state must first get the draft DP cleared from the HC.

Officials concluded hearings on the 69,200 suggestions and objections to the draft DP in December 2023. When the expert committee submitted the plan to PMRDA, it made twenty-three recommendations.

The Bombay High Court ordered the state to obtain its approval before finalizing the development plan (DP), but it also permitted the state’s urban development department to keep receiving comments and objections to the draft DP.

Three gram panchayats of Khed, Mulshi, and Maval talukas filed a PIL, leading to the passing of an interim order to this effect by a high court bench consisting of Justices AS Chandurkar and Abhay Waghwase.