Pimpri Chinchwad: Former Standing Committee Chairperson Seema Sawale has raised serious concerns over the recently released Revised Development Plan (DP) by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), accusing it of being skewed to benefit wealthy and influential landowners. According to Sawale, the floodline boundaries in the DP have been deliberately altered to protect properties owned by powerful individuals along the Pavana, Indrayani, and Mula rivers.
Sawale highlighted a glaring mismatch between the floodline demarcations shown in official cross-sectional maps prepared by the Water Resources Department (previously the Irrigation Department) and those reflected in the revised DP for localities such as Moshi, Chikhali, Pimple Saudagar, Rahatani, and Kiwale. While the administration demolished homes of labourers in Chikhali citing floodline violations, she alleged that the floodline limits were conveniently adjusted in the DP to exclude lands owned by influential people, pointing to blatant favoritism and corruption within the PCMC.
The Water Resources Department had conducted ground-level surveys to demarcate the Blue Line (indicating the 25-year floodplain) and Red Line (100-year floodplain), where construction is prohibited within the Blue Line area. Though the revised DP claims adherence to these official maps, Sawale revealed multiple instances where the floodline boundaries were manipulated. For example, various survey numbers in Chikhali, Moshi, Rahatani, Pimple Saudagar, and Kiwale that fall within the floodplain per official records were shown outside the restricted zones in the DP, effectively exempting them from flood-related restrictions.
Sawale warned this was not the first time PCMC has colluded with politicians, officials, and builders to exploit ordinary citizens. She cited a previous case in the Chinchwad region where a forged floodline map contradicted the official government data, causing confusion and unfair advantages.
Condemning the recent bulldozing of homes belonging to working-class families in Chikhali due to floodline violations, Sawale criticized the administration for its harsh approach, calling it “heartless.” Meanwhile, PCMC Commissioner Shekhar Singh announced plans to act against over 2,500 illegal constructions within flood-prone areas. However, Sawale alleged that the same administration is protecting the properties of affluent landowners by altering floodline boundaries in their favor.
She concluded by asserting that these double standards clearly indicate declining governance quality and rising corruption within the PCMC.
