This DP will be for a duration of 20 years (2007-2027), with special provisions for the Pune metro rail, a transport hub, expansion of main roads, schemes for housing for the needy and cluster development of old dilapidated ‘wadas’.

The PMC had earlier admitted that implementation of consecutive DPs drawn up in 1966 and 1987 was “pathetic” as a majority of the plans have remained on paper. In fact, only 40% of the 1987 DP has been implemented so far. Reservations for basic amenities like public urinals, play grounds, hospitals have not been developed. The 1987 DP reservations covered an area of around 1,000 hectare, of which only 134 hectare has been developed.

With bitter experiences of the past, the civic administration has worked on details of the financial feasibility analysis for the new plan.

The civic body has drafted a DP applicable to the old city area comprising 17 Peths and surrounding areas spread in a diameter of 147.85 sq km. It proposes 921 reservations covering 1,080.79 hectares for amenities like health, education, recreation, etc. The 1987 DP had 587 reservations for the purpose.

The civic administration, however, cites financial constraints, besides procedural delays, as a major reason for failure to implement the DP. City engineer Prashant Waghmare said, “The total cost of the draft DP is Rs 25,806.07 crore. The civic administration has made a detailed study on its financial aspects and has incorporated these conclusions. It is a must for any planning body to have a financial plan ready and the PMC has worked out the possible revenue resources which will help us carve out an implementation budget.”

A financial assessment document of the PMC incorporated in the draft DP states: “A detailed cost of acquisition and development of reservations, roads, tunnels, flyovers, buildings etc. has been worked out. Adequate deductions were then made for provisions made in the Development Control Regulation, such as accommodation reservation, Transfer of Development Right (TDR), amenity spaces use of (Floor Space Index) FSI of reservation and development TDR, mechanism of Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) etc”.

The total provision in the PMC annual budget has worked out to Rs 3,570.96 crore over a period of 10 years. This implies that every year a provision of Rs 357.96 crore has to be made in the PMC budget to meet the cost of acquisition and development of amenities proposed in the DP.

The reservation have been worked out based on the projected population of Pune by 2017 while the land use and zoning proposals have been planned based on the projected population by 2027. The cost required for land acquisition has been worked out by referring to values of land that is land cost, as mentioned in the Ready Reckoner 2011.

“The PMC’s revenue sources are shrinking. Pune is sixth in the list of big emerging cities in India and earlier the administration had categorically stated that an ideal annual budget for the city should be Rs 9,828 crore. However, elected representatives are against any tax hike. It is a fact that the city is falling short of funds for new projects and maintenance of the completed projects. If the city wants DP implemented, citizens should be ready to pay from their pockets and politicians need to stop playing to popular tunes,” said a senior official in the civic accounts department.

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