The villagers have voiced their opposition to the merger of Hinjawadi into the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). "The primary reason behind the opposition stems from the fear of an increased tax burden on them. Currently, residents of the Hinjawadi Gram Panchayat are mandated to pay a tax of Rs 4.50 to 5 per sqft. Shifting to the PCMC, the rate of taxes to be paid will hover around Rs 18 to 20 per sqft," said Hinjawadi Sarpanch Ganesh Jambhulkar.
"IT employees who work here commute from other parts of Pune city, but we are the residents of these areas, and the issue of increased tax is dear to us," said Jambhulkar, adding that the menace of waterlogging or traffic jams cannot be solved by the merger of Hinjawadi into PMC or PCMC. "The solution lies in fixing the accountability of officials who hold the responsibility to provide basic services," he added.
Jambhulkar said that the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) collects 50% of the tax revenue coming from Hinjawadi and nearby villages, which has to be utilised for improving civic facilities for residents. "If it were done, we would not have seen the recurrence of problems like waterlogging or traffic jams," he added.
He stressed the inefficacy of the inclusion of nearby villages in the municipal corporation. "Wakad and Mahalunge were included in PCMC back in 1997, and it took 15 years to start development projects in these areas. Coming to 2025, have the civic issues of better roads, traffic congestion, and infrastructure woes of Wakad and Mahalunge residents been solved?" he exclaimed.
Jambhulkar further added, "We have written to the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, for creating a separate municipal council for Hinjawadi and other nearby villages, and a separate memorandum for this has also been forwarded to the current Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis. A gram sabha has been called this week, where gram members will decide on the merger of the villages. Whatever decision is taken, I will abide by the opinions of the gram members."
