Views of leaders differ on construction in BDPs

PUNE: City's representatives in the state stand divided on permitting 8%-12% construction on the hills under biodiversity park (BDP) zone.
A group of members of legislative council (MLCs) want the state government to consult all stakeholders on the issue and not just one party. They demand the state should avoid the decision to allow constructions at these reserved areas.
A meeting between chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and city BJP MLAs in Mumbai on Saturday concluded that constructions must be allowed on the BDP.Constructions will be permitted on land owned by individuals, while such parks on government land will be protected without any construction activity. But the MLCs of other parties have contradictory opinions.
The state government is planning to allow constructions in areas under biodiversity park reservation by adopting the Mahabaleshwar model that compels land owners to plant trees while going ahead with building activities. This is a complete U-turn from the decision the government took last year to protect the biodiversity parks (BDPs) in the city.
"The blanket permission to construction on the hills is wrong. This move is not good for the city's environment protection. To allow construction after meeting only BJP MLAs is like keeping other city representatives in the dark. Leaders across the party lines, who are stake holders in decision making, must get the space to raise their concerns," said Anant Gadgil, spokesperson for Congress.
He added that only 0.4% constructions can be allowed in BDP areas. "If the government wants, they can create dedicated hill stations. If building permissions are given on each and every hill, it will cause damages to flora and fauna of the city," Gadgil said.
In August 2015, the government had issued a notification stating that no construction will be allowed in the BDP. The state had then rejected the demand to allow constructions by land owners in the BDP using 8% or the plot area for residential purpose.
"The decision has to be taken by following a democratic process. The subject is pertaining to the local self-government. Let the leaders of that institute, which is the Pune Municipal Corporation, take a final call," said Jaidev Gaikwad, MLC of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Gaikwad said the government should take cognizance of around 83,000 suggestions and objections raised by citizens before permitting constructions. If a one-sided decision is taken, then it will give a scope to doubt the intentions of the government, he added.
Much of the BDP area is located in the 23 merged villages on the fringes of old Pune. When they were brought into the PMC's fold in 1996, the development plan had recommended that 1,600 hectare in these fringe areas be reserved for the BDPs that would function as green lungs for a rapidly expanding city. This includes 978 hectare of privately-owned land the civic body will have to acquire by paying compensation. A majority of the biodiversity parks are on hilltops or slopes.
Neelam Gorhe, MLC of the Shiv Sena, said the democratic set-up should be respected while taking any call on this issue. "MLCs are playing equally important role in highlighting city's problems in the upper house of the state. Their views must be respected while taking any call on BDP," she said.
Gorhe added that her party has been supporting the BDP reservation for a long time. Their party leadership believes that "these hills are lungs of the city" and they must be protected.