SaudaGhar

Maharashtra's state cooperation department has received more than 750 emails carrying over 5,000 objections and suggestions on the proposed Model Bylaws 2026 from housing societies, residents, state federations and district federations reflecting widespread concern about the practical implications of the proposed framework. Key issues raised include parking provisions, society charges, redevelopment protocols, voting and electoral rights for different categories of members, online election mechanisms, leave and licence arrangements and the powers vested in managing committees and administrators or authorised officers appointed to manage societies. State and district federations have specifically asked for parking provisions to be revisited in line with MOFA, RERA and the legal framework governing common areas while clearer accountability mechanisms for appointed administrators have also been demanded. A cooperation department official confirmed that all 192 draft model bylaws are under review and that the committee will evaluate all objections with the process expected to be completed within a month.
Representatives said the representations broadly seek clearer procedures, a better balance between member rights and committee responsibilities and alignment with current statutory and regulatory frameworks to minimise ambiguities in day-to-day administration and reduce avoidable disputes within societies. A housing society member in Parvati expressed hope that objections would be examined thoroughly before provisions are finalised. A housing federation member specifically flagged concerns over parking contributions to various funds, service charges, water inlet charges, interest rates for defaulters and managing committee powers as issues needing urgent attention. For lakhs of housing society members across Maharashtra whose daily lives are governed by these bylaws, the quality and thoroughness of the committee's review in the coming month will determine whether the final Model Bylaws 2026 reflect ground realities or remain a source of confusion and disputes for years to come.

5 hours ago | [YT] | 10

SaudaGhar

PMC has begun preliminary work to widen approach roads to Hadapsar railway terminus, with all underground utilities, feeder boxes and electric poles to be shifted on priority to clear the way for the project at a cost of Rs 1.45 crore and road widening marking in the station area already underway. The railway administration is developing Hadapsar station into a terminus for long-distance trains, making improved road access increasingly urgent, but railway commuters have remained unhappy with poor basic facilities around the station including narrow access roads and complete absence of adequate autorickshaw and PMPML bus stands. PMC chief had visited the terminal site last month directing officials from road development, special projects and other departments to prioritise infrastructure upgrades in the area. The civic body has also initiated the tendering process to appoint an agency to shift underground utilities near Shastrinagar Chowk where work on a grade separator has already begun with approximately Rs 1.54 crore allocated for the project.
For daily rail commuters and passengers arriving at Hadapsar station, the current situation creates a chaotic first and last mile experience with narrow roads causing severe congestion especially during train arrivals and departures and the absence of organised transport stands forcing passengers to navigate unmanaged auto and vehicle clusters outside the station. The combination of the station's upgrade to terminus status and the growing residential and commercial density of the Hadapsar area makes the road widening not just a convenience upgrade but an urgent safety and mobility necessity. PMC's simultaneous push on both Hadapsar approach roads and the Shastrinagar Chowk grade separator signals a more coordinated approach to addressing some of east Pune's most persistent traffic pressure points before the terminus becomes fully operational for long-distance train services.

1 day ago | [YT] | 30

SaudaGhar

PMC has claimed to have repaired water supply and drainage pipelines at 100 locations to prevent contamination caused by leaks and cross-connections between water and sewage lines, with plans to take up work at 80 more sites in phases. Areas reporting major problems include Hadapsar, Kondhwa, Shivajinagar, Gokhalenagar, Vishrantwadi and several peripheral localities with field teams carrying out repairs including replacing damaged pipelines, fixing valves and redesigning cross-connection points. Officials said significant repairs are still pending on Sinhagad Road and in Hadapsar with most issues stemming from aging pipeline infrastructure. The issue was raised by corporators at the PMC general body meeting in July with elected representatives linking leaking water and sewage pipelines directly to public health concerns.
Residents however said the assurances sounded all too familiar. A Vishrantwadi resident said contaminated water remains a recurring nightmare with the same explanations about old pipelines being repeated every time a complaint is raised. A Manjari resident said water quality is inconsistent with supply sometimes muddy and sometimes carrying a foul smell with no reliability or transparency about what is actually reaching homes. Former mayor and Hadapsar corporator said sewage mixing with drinking water remains a persistent problem in her ward and demanded a comprehensive plan from PMC. Yerawada corporator questioned the effectiveness of heavy infrastructure spending saying despite crores being spent people are still struggling to get clean water. For Pune's residents the 100-location repair announcement is progress on paper but clean water at the tap is the only metric that actually matters.

2 days ago | [YT] | 20

SaudaGhar

Roads inside Khadki Cantonment Board KCB limits, including Babasaheb Ambedkar Road right outside the board's own headquarters, are in a dangerous condition with large potholes and damaged patches stretching for nearly 100 metres in some places leaving two-wheeler riders skidding, buses slowing to a halt and traffic backing up during peak hours. Software professionals and daily commuters said the situation is life-threatening at night when poor visibility forces last-minute braking and dangerous manoeuvres around damaged sections while gravel and soil scattered from the damaged carriageways make already narrow roads even more treacherous for vehicles including heavy industrial trucks coming from Pimpri Chinchwad heading toward Pune-Mumbai highway. A senior traffic police officer said the issue has been raised with cantonment authorities in a joint meeting with repairs urged immediately, noting that slow movement during peak hours is causing congestion on other internal KCB roads making traffic management increasingly difficult. Mula Road and several other internal roads in the cantonment are reportedly in similarly bad condition.
Residents and activists pointed out that repairs have been repeatedly done on the same patches including the stretch outside Kirkee War Cemetery with public money but roads deteriorate almost immediately after every fix, raising serious questions about the quality of work and contractor accountability. KCB assistant engineer attributed the deterioration to heavy monsoon rainfall and high traffic volumes saying earlier repairs could not withstand the combination and that a fresh work order has been issued to tar affected patches with contractors instructed to begin filling potholes soon. However commuters said KCB unlike Pune Cantonment Board has the financial resources to maintain its roads properly and the brazen neglect of the road directly outside the board's own headquarters is the most damning symbol of institutional indifference. For the hundreds of daily commuters and industrial vehicle operators who depend on these roads, a fresh work order is the same promise they have heard before and watched fail within weeks.

3 days ago | [YT] | 19

SaudaGhar

The state Public Works Department PWD and other agencies have issued around 200 notices to establishments along major highways connecting Pune with neighbouring districts, implementing the Supreme Court's July 13, 2026, order to clear encroachments within the right of way. The drive covers the Pune-Bengaluru, Pune-Ahilyanagar, Pune-Nashik, Pune-Solapur and Chakan-Talegaon highways as well as the old Pune-Mumbai highway. PWD maintains around 1,825 km of state highways in Pune district and notices have been sent to roadside commercial establishments and other properties found within the right of way, with occupants given a stipulated period to remove encroachments. The Pune divisional commissioner has directed district authorities to strictly implement the SC order and clear all encroachments within 60 days with superintending engineer PWD Pune confirming that work has intensified since last week.
NHAI has separately issued notices to occupants of sheds, permanent structures, roadside stalls, handcarts and advertising boards on the Pune-Solapur highway and is conducting regular patrolling to check encroachments and unauthorised parking. Regular commuters welcomed the action saying dhabas and roadside establishments near turns create dangerous blind spots where parked vehicles make it extremely difficult to negotiate bends, with one resident warning that serious accidents are only a matter of time if these stretches are not cleared promptly. Another commuter said eateries are fine but must be located at planned intervals with proper setbacks rather than randomly occupying highway right of way. For the millions of commuters who use these six major highway corridors daily, the SC-mandated crackdown offers a genuine opportunity to improve safety on some of Pune's most accident-prone stretches, but the real test will be whether the 60-day deadline is enforced with permanent removal rather than temporary clearances.

4 days ago | [YT] | 18

SaudaGhar

The revenue minister reviewed the illegal construction situation in Pimpri Chinchwad with the municipal commissioner on Thursday announcing a two-track approach where properties eligible for regularisation will be covered under the government's amnesty scheme while those that can never be regularised will face demolition regardless of their size. The minister said the approach mirrors the model adopted in Nagpur where around 3,900 properties were previously declared illegal and stressed that developers selling unauthorised structures to common people who invest their life savings is a serious problem that must be stopped. PCMC has already sent a list of unauthorised structures to the inspector general of registration requesting that fresh transactions involving these properties not be registered to prevent further sales to unsuspecting buyers. PCMC will also write to MSEDCL requesting that new electricity connections be denied to unauthorised structures while civic officials have also been instructed to deny new water connections to these properties. Vacant illegal high-rises have been specifically identified for priority demolition following due procedure before residents move in and action becomes more complicated.
The crackdown will cover illegal commercial properties including showrooms in addition to residential structures. Properties on the demolition radar include structures within the red zone around Dehu Road ordnance depot in Talawade, constructions falling within blue flood lines along rivers and properties affected by erstwhile PCNDTA rules. Structures that comply with FSI or UDCPR provisions and are therefore eligible for regularisation can be considered under applicable rules for the amnesty scheme. The municipal commissioner said PCMC will write to MSEDCL imminently to block new electricity connections to illegal structures. Revenue minister said a separate broader action plan meeting will be held soon to cover illegal constructions across all of Pimpri Chinchwad comprehensively. For the thousands of homebuyers who unknowingly purchased properties in unauthorised structures across Pimpri Chinchwad, the amnesty scheme offers some hope, but for those in structures that can never be regularised, the minister's message is unambiguous: demolition will follow regardless of who lives there.

4 days ago | [YT] | 18

SaudaGhar

PMC's standing committee has approved a proposal to set up a 300 metric tonne waste processing bio-CNG plant in the Phursungi-Uruli Devachi area with 12 acres of land to be allotted to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited BPCL for 27 years including two years for setup and 25 years of operation at a nominal lease rate of just Re 1 per acre per annum. The entire cost of setting up, maintaining and repairing the project will be borne by BPCL with PMC only required to provide the land, transport waste to the plant and supply basic infrastructure while BPCL will also pay monthly electricity and water bills and retain ownership and selling rights over all products generated. The standing committee chairman said the proposal was driven by the urgent need to improve wet waste processing capacity following the merger of 23 villages into PMC limits which increased daily waste generation significantly. The city currently generates 2,700 to 2,800 MT of solid waste per day of which 1,000 to 1,100 MT is wet waste but installed wet waste processing capacity stands at only 595 MT per day making the gap a serious civic management challenge. The proposal will now go before PMC's general body for final approval.
However, residents of Phursungi and Uruli Devachi have been opposing waste processing plants in their area, a protest that has been ongoing for years with the community consistently demanding that the civic body not add more processing burden to an area that already bears a disproportionate share of Pune's waste management infrastructure. PMC officials said they are in communication with residents and that issues raised by them are being addressed, but given the history of resident opposition in this area the general body approval and subsequent implementation are likely to face continued pushback. For a city whose wet waste processing capacity meets barely half of daily wet waste generation, the zero-cost-to-PMC BPCL deal represents a financially attractive solution, but turning that approval into an operational plant in a community that has been protesting for years will require more than just standing committee clearance.

6 days ago | [YT] | 19

SaudaGhar

Pune Municipal Corporation has approved an estimated Rs 2,634 crore for acquiring nearly 4.98 lakh square metres of land across 15 locations for the proposed High Capacity Mass Transit Route (HCMTR), with the standing committee clearing the proposal on Wednesday following a CM-chaired review meeting that directed expediting the HCMTR and inner ring road projects. The land will be acquired in Bopodi, Aundh, Bhamburda, Erandwane, Kothrud, Hingne, Parvati, Munjeri, Wanawadi, Hadapsar, Mundhwa, Vadgaonsheri, Lohegaon, Yerawada and Dhanori under the Right to Fair Compensation Act 2013 and Section 126 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act 1966. The district collector has directed PMC to deposit the full compensation amount at the final award stage rather than the standard 30 percent pre-notification deposit. Standing committee chairman confirmed that PMC will bear the acquisition cost for HCMTR within its jurisdiction as directed in the CM meeting minutes.
However, joint municipal commissioner and chief accounts officer confirmed that PMC is not expected to bear the entire Rs 2,000 crore plus financial burden alone with a Special Purpose Vehicle involving shared equity among the civic body, state government and central government being actively considered. The financial requirement will also be spread across different phases rather than paid as a single upfront amount. PMC is inducting three financial domain experts as part of its technical consultancy team to help structure funding including preparing RFPs, structuring loan conditions, working out fundraising and repayment mechanisms and assessing options like Viability Gap Funding and land monetisation. For a city that has watched the HCMTR remain on paper for years, the Rs 2,634 crore land acquisition approval combined with financial expert induction and SPV structuring represents the most concrete and funded step the project has ever taken toward becoming a physical reality on Pune's roads.

1 week ago | [YT] | 24

SaudaGhar

The National Green Tribunal NGT has asked Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation PCMC to explain how it plans to finance a sewage treatment project for the heavily polluted Pavana River after the Maharashtra government filed an affidavit stating there are insufficient funds under the 15th Finance Commission cycle to consider a new project, making it impossible for the National River Conservation Directorate NRCD to provide funding for a sewage treatment plant. PCMC has expressed willingness to provide 40 percent of the project cost as the state share but with central funding unavailable under the existing National River Conservation Plan, the civic body must explore alternative sources for the remaining 60 percent. The tribunal granted PCMC four weeks to file an affidavit detailing its funding options and alternative implementation mechanisms while also giving NRCD and the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti's Department of Water Resources four weeks to file their replies. The state added that a proposal to continue the National River Conservation Plan under the 16th Finance Commission cycle covering 2026-27 to 2030-31 is still under consideration.
The tribunal is hearing two connected cases concerning Pavana River pollution, including one initiated following a February 2024 news report that classified the river in the Priority 1 pollution category, Maharashtra's most severe level of river contamination. In a separate development, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board submitted inspection reports on four polluting industries with environmental compensation details assessed against them, and the NGT directed these industries to be added as respondents with four weeks to file replies. The directions were issued on September 10 and the matter will next be heard on October 15. For Pimpri Chinchwad's residents who depend on the Pavana and for the thousands of warkaris who take a holy dip in the Indrayani and Pavana during religious occasions, the funding deadlock between central and state agencies means the river cleanup keeps getting pushed into future Finance Commission cycles while pollution continues unabated on the ground.

1 week ago | [YT] | 23

SaudaGhar

The long-awaited Hinjawadi-Chh. Shivajinagar Metro Line 3 is set to open for passengers by the end of September with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to inaugurate the service virtually, PMRDA metropolitan commissioner confirmed. The authority has revised its earlier plan of opening 12 stations in the first phase and now plans to begin operations at 17 of the corridor's 23 stations, following the CMRS clearing the first 12 stations for passenger operations and with inspection of five additional stations expected next week. The six stations that will remain closed initially are Laxmi Nagar, Balewadi Phata, Baner Gaon, Baner, Reserve Bank of India and Shivajinagar with work continuing at these locations and adjoining sections. The 23.23 km corridor connecting Hinjawadi with Chh. Shivajinagar through Wakad, Balewadi and Baner is expected to provide a critical alternative to the notoriously congested Hinjawadi-Baner-Chh.Shivajinagar road network and improve connectivity between Pune's largest IT hub and central Pune.
The metropolitan commissioner said the authority would get confirmation of the inauguration date in a couple of days and that the event is being planned separately from political programmes in Baramati. The final date will depend on CMRS clearance from the five additional station inspections and the Prime Minister's schedule. The corridor has faced repeated delays since construction began with its opening schedule revised multiple times due to construction progress and station readiness issues. The decision to begin services with 17 stations rather than waiting for all 23 to be ready signals PMRDA's intent to get the Metro running for the thousands of IT professionals and daily commuters who have been enduring one of Pune's worst traffic corridors for years while watching deadline after deadline slip by without the Metro opening.

1 week ago | [YT] | 37