Government of Maharashtra to strict the building rules near to the Pune Indrayani Riverbed areas.

By Abhay Shah, Realty Quarter

The State Department of Urban Development has begun the process of integration of blue and red flood lines along the Indrayani River into the District Regional Plan.

In the regional plan (RP), non-incorporation of the flood lines has been seen as a cause of uncertainty in the legality of constructions and structures of the Indrayani Riverbed, especially near Lonavla, often leading to the flooding of the neighbouring areas during monsoon showers. Over the years, the structures were built on the banks of Indrayani, originating from the village of Kurvande near Lonavla and flowing downstream to the Dehu and Alandi pilgrim centres.

On a pledge to the Bombay High Court in a long-standing dispute over such construction/invasions, on 5^th August, the Department of Urban Development released a notice calling for government suggestions and protests on a proposition to amend the RP for the Pune District and the 2018 Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) for the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA).

Kishor Gokhale, Undersecretary of the Department of Urban Development, released a public notice referring to the proposition pursuant to Section 20 of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966.

The proposed amendment prevents any constructions in the region between the riverbank and the blue flood line, including exceptions such as the open vegetable market, garden, lawns, cremation and burial grounds.

The notice further suggests, “Redevelopment of existing authorized properties within river bank and blue flood line may be permitted if the building’s plinth height is not less than 0.45 m above the red flood line and till the NOC from the irrigation department is obtained.”

The notice states, “Suggestions or objections from the general public regarding the proposed amendments in the RP and DCPR shall be submitted to the Assistant City Planning Director, Pune branch, at the new administrative building opposite Vidhan Bhavan, within 30 days from the date of publication of the notice.

The assistant director is also assigned as the officer for receiving suggestions or complaints. It stated that the plans displaying the suggested change will be held open for public review during office hours on all working days at the PMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner offices and the Assistant City Planning Director.

Sadashiv Sapre, one of the petitioners in the High Court litigation, said: “The move by the state is a gradual step as notifying the flood lines is not only critical for solving the problem of constructions/ infringements in the Indrayani river bed, but also for the rivers across Pune and other areas of the state.

It would be very useful for the officials to remove or regulate such constructions or encroachments after the inclusion of the flood lines into the RP.