Special Correspondent
Pune : In a major administrative development, the civilian areas under the Pune and Khadki Cantonment Boards are set to be merged into the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has given in-principle approval for the integration, which is expected to increase the number of corporators and one additional ward.
As per the 2011 Census, Pune Cantonment has a population of 71,781 and Khadki Cantonment has 70,399 residents. With their inclusion in PMC, the number of corporators will increase by two, taking the total to 167 corporators across 43 wards.
The upcoming PMC elections will follow a four-member ward structure. The process of preparing a new draft of the ward structure has already begun and is expected to be completed by July 23 or 24. After this, physical inspections of ward boundaries will take place, and the draft will be submitted to the Municipal Commissioner.
Once the draft is approved and signed by the Commissioner, it will be forwarded to the Urban Development Department by August 4. However, with the state government giving in-principle approval for including the cantonment areas, speculation is rife about whether this could delay the ward formation process.
If the official notification for the merger of Pune and Khadki Cantonment Boards is released before the finalization of the new ward structure, it could lead to redrawing of boundaries, potentially delaying the elections.
On the other hand, if the notification comes after the final ward structure is published, then a separate election may be held for the newly included areas imilar to what was done after the inclusion of 11 villages in the PMC jurisdiction post-2011.
As of now, work on the ward restructuring will continue based on the current geographical boundaries. The possibility of delaying the municipal elections hinges on when the notification for the inclusion of the cantonment areas is issued.
If the notification is delayed, elections can proceed as planned; but if it’s issued beforehand, ward boundaries will need to be revised — and that may push back the election schedule.
This development could significantly impact the political landscape in Pune, as the inclusion of cantonment areas will bring thousands of new voters under the PMC umbrella and reshape electoral dynamics in several key wards.
