Home / Environment / Pune Citizens Sue Over Unchecked Urban Growth
Pune Citizens Sue Over Unchecked Urban Growth
4 Oct
Summary
- Petition challenges rules allowing increased construction via FSI.
- Citizens cite deficits in water, sewage, and open spaces.
- Court issues notices to Maharashtra government and PMC.
Prominent citizens have filed a petition with the Bombay High Court, challenging Pune's current development regulations that allow for increased real estate construction. The core of the petition targets provisions within the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations, 2020 (UDCPR 2020), which permit additional buildable potential through higher Floor Space Index (FSI).
The petitioners assert that these regulations were enacted without comprehensive assessments of the region's carrying capacity, infrastructure, environmental impact, and overall liveability. They point to Pune's existing struggles with water shortages, inadequate sewage treatment, waste management issues, and traffic congestion. The group fears that unscientific densification will exacerbate these problems and pose significant public health and safety risks.
The petition urges the High Court to quash the relevant chapters of UDCPR 2020 and implement the 2017 Development Control Rules temporarily. They advocate for the Pune Municipal Corporation to conduct detailed impact studies before permitting any additional FSI provisions, including assessments on population density, infrastructure capacity, environmental effects, and disaster risk mitigation. Additionally, they seek to halt development permissions for Transit Oriented Development until city-wide impact assessments are complete.
