Residents of Pune’s Lokmanya Nagar staged a protest outside MLA Hemant Rasane’s office on Saturday to remove the stay Rasane had raised to CM Devendra Fadnavis regarding a single developer to be appointed for the building’s redevelopment.
The MHADA buildings in centrally located Lokmanya Nagar, Pune, are facing several issues. Following this, the residents decided to undertake redevelopment on their own by appointing a developer of their choice. However, MLA Hemant Rasane wrote a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, leading to a stay order under the pretext of ‘single developer’ redevelopment.
This irked the residents’ dream of rebuilding their homes. So on Saturday, on behalf of the Lokmanya Nagar Bachav Kruti Samiti, hundreds of residents marched directly to MLA Hemant Rasane’s office.
The citizens carried placards in protest and were outraged that Rasane’s letter to the Chief Minister had obstructed Lokmanya Nagar’s redevelopment. The residents raised slogans against him, to ‘avoid interference, don’t take us for granted, give immediate approval to redevelopment' echoed through the Natubaug area. A heated verbal clash then ensued between MLA Rasane and the residents.
The citizens have demanded to lift the stay be lifted on their houses and developers. This firm stand led to a stormy discussion. They asserted: “Let us dream and realise our dreams, there is no need for you to mediate, remove the stay immediately, we oppose single-developer redevelopment, let us carry out redevelopment ourselves, and only after consulting residents should redevelopment happen.” They also handed over a written statement to Rasane.
In response, Rasane assured, “I am committed to the redevelopment of Lokmanya Nagar and will soon work out a solution. Not only Lokmanya Nagar, but I aim to redevelop all dilapidated societies in the Kasba constituency. I will hold another round of discussions with the residents of Lokmanya Nagar.”
However, the residents strongly opposed, saying, “Don’t talk about other areas, Lokmanya Nagar has its own issues. Let us carry out our redevelopment and remove the stay.”
Meanwhile, Advocate Ganesh Satpute presented the residents’ side. Listening to Rasane’s arguments, Satpute acted as a mediator and helped establish communication between the MLA and the residents.
