22.8.11

Of Pune's DP



Maharashtra Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has said that a decision on the long-pending development plan (DP) for 23 fringe villages of Pune will be taken within a month. Chavan also said the government would explore the feasibility of having a local civic body tax as an alternative to octroi. Earlier, Chavan inaugurated the Rajiv Gandhi elearning academy, started by the Pune Municipal Corporation, on Sunday. Chavan said, “Approval of the DP has been pending for many days. As requested by the deputy CM, Ajit Pawar, we will try and take a decision by end of August, but a month is a safe period to take such an important decision.” Chavan also said he will look into the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) schemes on plots owned by the PMC. While some corporators demanded that the PMC should set the cut-off time for rehabilitating slum-dwellers under the scheme, others said the state government orders should be followed in this regard. The state government is set to recognise all shanties that have come up till early 2000. The move is being planned with an eye on the civic elections in 2012 since slums form a decisive vote bank. Chavan also said that Maharashtra is among the very few states where the octroi system is still functioning. “When vehicles stop for paying octroi, movement of vehicles is affected resulting in traffic jam. We will study the possibility of local body tax as an alternative to octroi and how feasible it is for Maharashtra.” Earlier, Ajit Pawar said, “there are media reports that the NCP has some other opinion on the DP. But, I want to make it clear right away that we want the DP to be approved by the state government immediately and if possible, before September. Also, other decisions on development of Pune, like metro, ring road, BDP should also be taken for the betterment of the city.” The Rajiv Gandhi e-learning academy is the first CBSE-affiliated PMC school with about 900 students. Students are not required to carry school bags as all subjects are taught with help of computers. Situated at Shivdarshan, the academy has been designed by corporator Aba Bagul with a construction cost of Rs 15 crore. The academy is meant for students from the economically weaker sections of society.

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