Panel submits revised draft DP for Pune old city on the dot

Better connectivity in old city areas with expanded roads, more traffic hubs for encouraging public transport at railway stations and a new central business district at Sangamwadi are the highlights of the changes proposed by the committee.

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Since the earlier DP, made in 1987, made only 23 per cent of reservations for spaces, the committee this time refrained from making any major reservations, instead sticking to what is achievable. Reservations have been reduced from 900 to 500 in the new draft DP.

The three-member committee also included the Pune Municipal Commissioner and joint director of town planning who worked for six months to revise the DP for the old city areas.

“The task has been completed in the stipulated time and we have submitted it to the government under section 30 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act (MRTP) and under section 28 under which it can be made available in public domain from Sunday,” Chockolingam said.

The draft DP has laid stress on major issues of traffic snarls in city areas. The committee has suggested expansion of major city roads which was objected to in the earlier draft.

A major thrust being public transport, the committee has provided reservations for PMPML bus depots at Pune railway station and Shivajinagar railway station. The proposed railway terminal at Hadapsar too has received a green signal, with reservations being made for appropriate extension of the second terminal as well as platforms. Reservation has also been made for PMPML here to develop a transport hub.

Chockolingam said that during the review of old DP, they found that in most of the state transport bus stations in the city, there was no parking facility for PMPML buses. He said the same has been revised accordingly and reservation made for parking space for PMPML buses as well at these hubs for better connectivity. A special reservation has been made in the Aundh area for both PMPML and ST bus stands.
The committee also proposed that there would be facility to alight from both sides of the proposed elevated metro for the city and reservations would be made accordingly.

While the draft DP has continued with most of the reservations made in the old DP, it has removed reservations for open spaces. The divisional commissioner explained this saying there were several complaints on reservations on open spaces for gardens and parks and so the space would now belong to the society.
With the new DP proposing various amenities, the committee said all new reservations proposed for new areas released for development would stand cancelled and only necessary requirements such as sewerage treatment plant and water supply plants would be allowed. “Facilities such as parks, libraries and vegetable markets would stand cancelled for these new areas,’’ he added.

With many areas shifting from no-development zone to residential zone, especially in Lohegaon and Mundwa, smaller reservations have been removed to make way for bigger reservations like areas for playground.

Earlier, reservations were also provided for on government land. The committee has decided to remove these reservations unless for some public purposes like Metro or road expansion. “Reservations garden and playground have been removed here again,” said one of the committee members.

The other highlight of the draft DP is a proposal of a central business district at Sangamwadi in the heart of the city, on the lines of Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai. “This will have office space, malls and residential areas so that people are be able to work and reside in the same area to avoid travel,” Chockolingam said.

The committee has basically reviewed the old DP and made the changes as per requirement after hearing out over 8,000 suggestions and objections.

The only thing pending is the Development Control Regulations, which will take another three months to finalise. The committee has requested the government for time as they are obtaining DCRs from other corporations for review.

“It has been six months of day and nigh toil to get the revised DP in space. We are glad we could complete the same in the stipulated time,” said the divisional commissioner.