Pune: Representatives of small-scale industries in Pimpri Chinchwad on Monday urged deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to facilitate rehabilitation of the unauthorised units demolished in an anti-encroachment drive in Kudalwadi earlier this year.“We sought an industrial park in 120-125 acres in Kudalwadi to accommodate the affected establishments and develop necessary infrastructure. Pawar instructed the civic commissioner to prepare a proposal and promised us that a meeting would be held in Mumbai to discuss the feasibility,” said Sandip Belsare, president of Pimpri Chinchwad Small Industries’ Association.Belsare participated in a meeting with the deputy CM, also Pune guardian minister, where the latter discussed the problems faced by industries and told officials from Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and other govt agencies to look into them. Later, Pawar told reporters that a joint meeting of all stakeholders was necessary to resolve the issues. “We discussed their concerns and issued instructions to the departments concerned for appropriate action,” he said.Among other long-pending demands raised by industrialists was completion of the proposed common effluent treatment plant (CETP) and a new hazardous waste processing facility for Bhosari MIDC. Currently, they are forced to transport hazardous waste to Ranjangaon MIDC, while the CETP project has stalled due to land acquisiton issues.Pawar also reviewed the ongoing riverfront development project along the Mula, Mutha, and Indrayani rivers. Environmentalists have claimed that the width of the rivers is being reduced, which will increase the risk of flooding. Activists have also flagged large-scale tree cutting for the project.The deputy CM said he too had doubts about certain aspects of the work. “It was discussed that a single contractor should ideally carry out work on both banks of the Mutha river. But since work has already begun, it is not possible now. A committee will be formed to coordinate further works,” he told reporters.At Sangvi, PMC is executing the work on one side of the Mula, while PCMC is handling the other bak, as the stretch falls within the boundary of the two civic bodies. Pawar further said that the corporation has been directed to study the impact of recent heavy rain on the rivers and check whether the project works have caused flooding.In Feb, PCMC razed 4,111 unauthorised structures, including industrial units, scrap shops and other establishments, across 827 acres in Kudalwadi. Industrialists said they have since struggled to find alternative space to resume operations.
