Decentralised system can solve water supply issues in merged areas: Vijay Shivtare

Pune: Vijay Shivtare , the Purandar MLA, on Friday said a decentralised system should be introduced for resolving the water supply issues of the merged areas under PMC.

The Pune Municipal Corporation organized a meeting to discuss issues pertaining to merged areas on Thursday. Shivtare was speaking with TOI after the meeting and said, "It may not be possible to adequately fulfil the water supply needs of all the merged areas by only depending on Khadakwasla dam. Hence, options to develop decentralised water conservation systems in these areas must be explored," he said.

According to Shivtare, the grazing lands which are vacant and unused can be utilized to develop artificial water bodies such as lakes or deep water storage units. He said, the run-offs of rains, which are wasted due to the limited storage capacity of dams, can be stored in these artificial lakes. It will help in resolving water supply needs at the local level.

Shivtare said instructions have also been given to the civic body to implement the state govt's directives of charging property tax based on the gram-panchayat rates.

As per the PMC officials, the state govt gave a letter to the civic body before the state assembly polls to stop collections in these merged areas. The state also suggested that the PMC should charge the tax based on the then gram-panchayat tax. It should be twice what gram-panchayat was charging then, but the administration was waiting for further clarification on it.

As per the residents, years passed since the merger, but even then, citizens are suffering to get basic facilities like drinking water. The issue of poor road infrastructure also prevails in these areas. The administration must focus on these issues as a priority, they said.

The PMC officials confirmed that the initial proposal for merging 34 villages received approval from the PMC in 2013-14. Following court instructions, PMC incorporated 11 villages into its jurisdiction in 2017, with nine villages partially merged and Uruli-Phursungi completely integrated. The PMC expanded to become the largest municipal corporation in the state after merging 23 additional villages in July 2021. In Sept 2024, Uruli-Phursungi was demerged.

It happened after the resident of the merged area sought improved amenities from both civic authorities and state administration. Several resident groups advocated for the demerger of their areas and in response to these appeals, the state initiated the demerger process for Uruli-Phursungi. Subsequently, these two villages received their own municipal council.