‘Water body to be turned into residential zone, not natural lake’

The water body is located at a prime location in Wakad, which was earlier with the PCNTDA

After the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's (PCMC) general body meeting on Saturday approved the proposal to convert a lake at Wakad into a residential zone, Municipal Commissioner Dr Shrikar Pardeshi said his administration would await the state government and the Bombay high court directives on the issue.

Amidst heated debate, the PCMC GB meeting approved the proposal to convert what the Oppostion described as a "natural lake" into a residential zone.

While the ruling NCP voted in favour of converting the lake into a residential zone, the Congress, the Shiv Sena, and the MNS voted against the proposal. 59 corporators voted in favour of the proposal, while 20 voted against it.

The civic chief said the contention of the Opposition about the lake being a natural one was answered by former municipal commissioner Dilip Band.

"During the GB meeting, Shiv Sena corporator Shrirang Barne read out a report submitted by Dilip Band who had after the surveying the site said the lake was not a natural one," Dr Pardeshi said.

"The GB resolution will now be sent to the state government which will take the final call. We are also awaiting a court order," he said.

The water body at survey number 211 is located at a prime location in Wakad, which was earlier with the Pimpri-Chinchwad New Town Development Authority (PCNTDA). It was later brought under the development control rules of the PCMC.

The site is shown as a water body in the development plan. A public interest litigation (PIL) on the issue was filed before the Bombay high court by Moti Mudaliar, a resident of Pimple Nilakh.

During the GB meeting, Shrirang Barne criticised the civic administration for favouring the proposal to convert the lake into a residential zone.

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