Pune: Around 250-300 people gathered in front of the Pune Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) office near Pune railway station, raising concerns over an integrated development plan.
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Dr Madan Kotule, a resident living in Lokmanya Nagar, said, "I have been living in Lokmanya Nagar for 43 years. On December 6, 2023, we received a GR from Maharashtra state stating that a property can be developed separately or with the neighbouring society. But MLA Hemant Rasane has given a letter to the Chief Minister stating that Lokmanya Society should be developed only in an integrated cluster manner."
"Some societies in the area have already gained the permission from the PMC and MHARDA to develop our societies individually; we spent a lot of money seeking the permission, and now all of a sudden they issued another GR. We don't want MHADA to go for integrated development; we would rather develop our houses as per our wills. So it is not possible to carry out development in such a way, and the MLA should revise the development plan," said Dr Kotule.
Another resident, Satish Jangam, a resident of MHADA towers in Yerawada, said, "In our society almost 93 buildings are there, and we have around 3000 flats. I have been living there for the past 40 years, and we have everything: gardens, parks and water connection in our society. We are against MHADA for redeveloping it for us; we want to develop it on our own as per the earlier GR issued to us."
Jayshree Bulbule, another resident who participated in the protest, alleges serious mismanagement and claims that a local MLA is responsible for stalling their long-awaited redevelopment project. We demand immediate action. The redevelopment of Lokmanya Nagar, pending for years, had finally started to move forward. However, the local MLA intervened and secured a temporary stay on the project. As a result, 803 families have been left stranded, and many residents have taken to the streets in protest, raising slogans against MHADA, the government and the MLA."
Residents at Lokmanya Nagar are currently facing irregular water supply, dilapidated buildings and poor drainage systems. With the redevelopment now halted, their situation has worsened.
"Some societies in Lokmanya Nagar have appointed their own developers and completed construction. Despite MHADA granting permission and collecting crores in fees, residents allege that the new rules which state that all development projects need to be constructed in clusters and not independently are on a fix," added Rajendra Desai, another resident of Yerawada.
