Nine NCP members added to committee constituted to review development of merged villages in Pune

Amid the Lok Sabha (LS) polls, Pune district guardian minister and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, has moved to include nine Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) members in the committee set up by the state government to work on development and improvement of infrastructure in the 34 villages merged with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).

On Saturday, deputy secretary, Urban Development Department, Priyanka Kulkarni, issued an order mentioning the names of the nine new members of the committee.

These include: Pandurang Khese (Lohegaon, Wagholi); Baburao Chandere (Sus, Mahalunge, Bavdhan); Dattatray Dhankawade (Narhe, Shivane, Uttam Nagar, Dhayari); Rakesh Kamthe (Undri, Pisoli, Vadachi Wadi); Bhagwan Bhadale (Mantarwadi, Devachi Uruli); Shantaram Katke (Katke Wadi, Wagholi); Ganesh Dhore (Dhore Vasti, Fursungi, Bhekrai Nagar); Rahul Pokale (Dhayari, Pune); and Ajit Ghule (Manjari Budruk, Haveli, Pune).

After more than two years of the merger of 34 fringe villages with the PMC, the villages are still lacking basic facilities. The committee has been constituted by the state government to review and improve infrastructure and development in these fringe villages. It has 18 members and is chaired by the divisional commissioner. Although the merged villages are now part of the PMC, they are also part of the LS constituencies of Baramati and Shirur. As the NCP will be contesting the LS polls from Shirur and Baramati constituencies, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar decided to include nine NCP members in the committee constituted to oversee infrastructure and development in the fringe villages.

Bhagwan Bhadale – who played a major role in the Devachi Uruli garbage depot and was president of the Kachara Depot Hatao Sangharsh Samiti – has been appointed a member of the committee for Devachi Uruli and Mantarwadi. After being appointed, Bhadale said, “It is a welcome move by the state government. I will help the administration identify the problems of residents of the merged villages of Mantarwadi and Devachi Uruli so that the PMC administration will prioritise infrastructure in the merged villages. There is a lack of roads, drinking water and drainage systems in the Mantarwadi and Devachi Uruli villages.”

Of the 34 villages merged with the PMC, 11 were merged in 2017 while 23 were merged in 2021. After inclusion of the villages, the term of the municipal corporation members ended in March 2022. Subsequently, the municipal elections were anticipated to take place but they got postponed due to conflicts concerning the ward structure and other matters.