Prominent hotels which fell under the civic hammer included Hotel Pathik, where 2,500 sq ft of unauthorised construction had encroached on off-street parking space. Action was taken against 25 such hotels and stores.

On Fergusson College Road, China Clay Fancy Store, Sai Complex, Hotel Savera and Prasanna Tours and Travels were targeted, while hotels Kapil, Panchali, Surabhi, Pearl, Golden Gate, Shiv Sagar, Sapna, Portico, Shubham and Bharati Vadewala on Jungli Maharaj Road lost their illegal constructions.

In another development, the tax assessment department recovered property tax arrears amounting to Rs 12.23 lakh from seven defaulters, including Kirloskar Consultants, Dingankar Mahadev, Daruwala Mehboob, Andhra High school and others.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Kalmadirefuted Opposition leader Madhukar Pichad's charge that he was responsible for the transfer of Arun Bhatia. ``I am surprised at the allegations made against me by Pichad, saying I was responsible for the transfer of Arun Bhatia. It is unfortunate that the Congress party is making it a political issue. I emphatically state that I have nothing to do with Bhatia's transfer,'' Kalmadi said in a statement today.

Kalmadi said he had ``always supported the demolition of unauthorised structures, except when it comes to slums. The Congress is making allegations as they have got unnerved by the fact that the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi had a successful convention attended by over 10,000 workers from all over the State,'' he said.

Kalmadi pointed out that Chief Minister Narayan Rane had already clarified the reasons for Bhatia's transfer. He advised citizens of Pune, who have been resorting to a peaceful agitation, to keep themselves away from political parties like the Congress, ``which is only interested in gettingpolitical mileage out of the episode.''