PCMC misses deadline to take action against structures in blue floodlines

Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has missed its own deadline to take action against unauthorized constructions built within the blue floodlines in the twin cities.
Municipal commissioner Shekhar Singh had on Aug 23 directed civic officials to conduct a survey of constructions in the blue floodline area within a week. They were also asked to initiate a demolition drive against these structures.
However, even three weeks after the announcement, the civic body is yet to complete the survey.
A senior PCMC official told TOI that over 80% of the survey work is completed and the anti-encroachment department will initiate action after the ongoing Ganeshotsav is over.
"At present, the municipal staff and police department are busy with festival duty, so the drive has been delayed. Besides, the Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) personnel are also deployed at different ghats for visarjan duty. However, we will initiate action after the Ganapati festival is over," the PCMC official said, choosing anonymity.
The civic official added, "We will start action against commercial establishments in the first phase as residential structures cannot be demolished during monsoon as per high court directives."
This will be the first such major drive against all constructions in the blue floodline area in Pimpri Chinchwad. Three rivers, including the Pavana, Indrayani and Mula, flow through PCMC limits.
The blue floodlines designate the highest water level of flood discharge every 25 years on average. They mark the ‘prohibitive zone' on both banks of the river and cannot be used for any kind of construction that will obstruct the river's flow or reduce its carrying capacity.
Before initiating the planned action, PCMC will also use drone images captured during the recent property assessment survey and match them with data being collected by civic staff of zonal offices during the ground survey, for a second verification. Further, the data will also be matched with the floodline notification shared by the irrigation department in 2009 to identify structures within the blue floodline.
Last month, civic chief Singh also held a meeting with the Pimpri Chinchwad police to seek their help during the impending demolition drive.