In 2015, the Bombay high court directed the establishment of a Chakan industrial authority
Pune: The deterioration of the Chakan industrial area and employees’ hardships can be traced back to an 11-year delay in the formation of an industrial township and independent authority for the area.
In an April 2015 order, Bombay high court directed the state to take steps to establish a Chakan industrial authority, following which the sub-divisional officer of Khed prepared a report with recommendations to manage not only the hub, but also 11 nearby villages, which saw their population explode in recent years. Nighoje village, which had 5,333 residents as per the 2011 Census, has since grown by 1,212%. “The village now has 70,000 residents. On Aug 11, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, noting that the Industrial Township Act has been in place for years, said MIDCs must be converted into industrial townships, or infrastructure upgradation and maintenance would not be possible.
Local activists blamed govt inertia on the sorry state of affairs in Chakan, which has witnessed an exodus of industrial units due to the crumbling infrastructure, among other reasons. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Pune | Silver Rate in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune | Petrol Price in Pune | Diesel Price in Pune | CNG Price in Pune | LPG Price in Pune Stay updated with the latest Pune news.
“Although the industrial area is located outside the municipal council limits, the impact of industrialisation is being felt by the municipal council as well as the 11 affected villages,” the then collector, Saurabh Rao, stated in a report to the state govt. This puts an enormous strain on the infrastructure,” sarpanch Sunita Yelawande said. In the report to the govt, Rao had said the central industrial authority would pave the way for a plan to develop the area with the necessary amenities. Satish Magar, who spearheaded the development of Magarapatta City, said Chakan’s industrial potential was unmatched, but its infrastructure and road network left a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, that is not the scenario in Chakan,” Magar told TOI. He said only a few industrial townships in India — such as Jamshedpur and Bokaro — have been developed with a long-term vision and adequate infrastructure planning. He said the authorities should have anticipated traffic and industrial expansion rather than planning corrective measures after problems surface. “Chakan would not be in such a bad shape if a central authority was established 11 years ago,” Nilesh Kad Patil, a resident activist who filed the 2014 writ petition in the high court, said. This lack of coordination, industrialists said, is responsible for the haphazard growth of the industrial zone — roads within the MIDC area have been widened and there is adequate water supply, but units outside the hub have neither. “Revenue thus generated can be used for maintenance and developing infrastructure,” he said.
“It will also be possible to make appropriate zoning plans. However, the plan has remained on paper. “While planning industrial townships, the authorities concerned need to consider several aspects, with roads being one of the most integral. Industries need wide roads that can accommodate heavy vehicles. “Several other townships lack planning and vision. In Magarpatta, we created multiple entry and exit points while developing the township. “Every rupee of tax collected is distributed between Chakan Municipal Council and MIDC. This could have been avoided with a central authority. Now, there is no coordination between PMRDA, MIDC and the municipal council,” he added. A lack of security and poor garbage disposal compound the problem. He instructed the urban development department and MIDC to take the necessary steps. TOI has reached out to officials and is awaiting an update on the progress of this project. Download the TOI App.
Today, that planning has come in useful,” he said.