Pune: State govt on Wednesday approved Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) as the planning authority of the 23 areas that were merged into the civic limits in 2021, in a long-awaited move that could reshape the city’s development landscape.Since their merger into PMC limits, residents in these fringe areas lived in a grey zone with day-to-day planning control staying with the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA). This created a dual-authority maze where PMC supplied water and civic services, but PMRDA issued building permits.Resultantly, developers, residents and officials often found themselves caught between overlapping directives, unclear permissions and stalled enforcement.The state urban development department, however, put all the confusion to rest on Wednesday, issuing the notification to withdraw PMRDA’s status as the special planning authority for the 23 areas. From this point forward, PMC would be the sole planning authority — responsible for preparing a fresh development plan (DP), granting building permissions, planning road networks and executing civic upgrades in the newly added areas.The decision didn’t emerge overnight. Since 2021, elected representatives and civic officials repeatedly pressed govt to resolve the administrative limbo. Last Sept, PMC formally wrote to state govt, urging that the merged areas be removed from PMRDA’s jurisdiction. Activists, including former corporator Ujjwal Keskar, even approached the high court seeking clarity and accountability.The turning point came only recently, when the state cancelled PMRDA’s earlier DP for the merged pockets. Wednesday’s notification put the final seal on the shift.Urban development minister of state and Parvati MLA Madhuri Misal welcomed the announcement. “The decision will ensure planned development in merged areas. The govt is working towards holistic development of these areas,” Misal said, adding that she had followed up regularly with govt to fast-track the decision.For the residents of the merged areas, the change could be transformative. Officials said PMC would soon receive all documents related to previous building permissions, along with its share of the revenue PMRDA collected from those approvals. “This will enable PMC to take charge fully — sanctioning new plans, regulating construction and carrying out long-pending infrastructure works,” an official said.Former corporator Keskar, who campaigned for the shift, said the move would finally give PMC the authority it needed. “PMC was extending civic services but couldn’t act against illegal constructions or haphazard development. Now it can prepare a DP and carry out development works properly,” he said.A few months before the municipal corporation polls, then deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar had directed the authorities to complete the administrative procedures to appoint PMC as the planning authority.Over the next few days, PMC expects formal instructions on the handover. “Further steps will include handing over the documents pertaining to building permissions and planning to PMC. PMRDA is also supposed to hand over PMC’s share of the revenue generated from building permissions issued in merged areas. PMC will work out all the details in the next few days,” another PMC official said.
