Curation Team
PUNE: The civic body is contemplating compulsory relocation of tenants living in dilapidated wadas to prevent human casualties or injuries caused by mishaps during the monsoon.
Residents of structures found dangerous will be shifted to safer places during the rainy season and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will make necessary arrangements for the move.
Civic data identifies 116 structures as very dangerous and the process to demolish them is underway. However, 21 of the said properties are occupied and residents are unwilling to relocate. Mishaps, if any, could lead to injuries or other serious issues.
Resident of a wada Abhay Joshi said, “PMC must resolve the problem of dangerous structures permanently. Relocation during rains is welcome, but is a temporary solution — a stop-gap arrangement.”
PMC officials said the administration has urged the police department to help vacate the dangerous structures. The occupants have been told to rent property at safer locations. Many of them are financially weak and cannot afford to relocate, so talks are on to shift them to civic properties.
“PMC can move occupants of govt properties immediately, but there are legal complications in shifting private residents. There is no specific provision for such relocation,” said Pravin Shende, a civic official.
“A dedicated policy will be needed for temporary relocation and discussions are underway for the same,” said civic official Rajesh Bankar.
PMC offers a tenancy certificate to encourage vacating the properties. The tenancy certificate is a singular initiative to assure rights to tenants of dilapidated wadas. Doubts about the certificate’s utility, legal value and fear of losing property rights after leaving the wadas have kept tenants sceptical.
Meanwhile, the dangerous structures are divided into three categories — C1, C2 and C3. The most dangerous are in the C1 category, those needing major repairs are in C2 category and C3 includes structures which need minor repairs.
