PMC to use satellite imaging to watch its new turf for illegal constructions

34 villages have been merged in Pune city limits, making the civic body’s job that much tougher

As 34 fringe villages are set to merge in the city, PMC plans to take help of satellite imaging to curb illegal constructions from mushrooming in these areas.

“Through real-time satellite maps, we can check the status of recent and upcoming construction sites. Once all these villages are officially merged in PMC, we can take action on illegal constructions,” Omprakash Bakoria, PMC additional municipal commissioner said.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had last month cleared the long-pending proposal to bring 34 fringe villages within the jurisdiction of the PMC.

Yesterday, the civic body did a review of these villages.

Once the merger is complete, the PMC limits would increase from 243.84 sq km to roughly 560 sq km.

“We took an overview of basic facilities like roads, water supply and drainage system in these villages. According to our estimate R415 crore would be required to extend water supply, R164 crore for drainage and Rs 1,473 crore for road construction in these villages,” Bakoria said.

The PMC has asked district administration to provide detail information about government sites, schools and statistics of government employees working in gram panchayats and other government offices. 

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