Pune

The Pune Municipal Corporation started snapping water connection to 200 dangerous buildings in the city on July 25. As many as 20 connections were cut to compel the occupants of these buildings to vacate their houses.

The action would continue, said a civic official.

Shridhar Yeolekar, the executive engineer of the building permission department, said, "We had given notices to these occupants. Despite repeated reminders, they have not moved out from their houses. So the step to snap the water connection has been taken." The issue of old and dilapidated buildings resurfaced after a four-storey residential building collapsed in Mumbai suburban Ghatkopar.

Yeolekar said there were nearly 200 dangerous structures in the city. The civic administration has been appealing to the residents of other buildings to vacate them. The certificates proving their occupancy in their respective wadas were being issued to help them claim their space in the future. Most of these dangerous buildings are old wadas in Somwar Peth, Mangalawar Peth and other areas.

Some civic officials claimed that tenants were not ready to vacate fearing losing claim over them. To sort out this issue, the PMC started mentioning the names of both tenants and owners in notices sent for repair work following the guidelines of issued by the state in 2015. The tenant can use the notices as claim over the wada.

V G Kulkarni, the head of PMC’s water department, said law permitted disconnection of water supply line. "If the supply line is cut for the larger public interest, then it is allowed. The water department will carry out action with the building permission department," he said.

The redevelopment of old properties has been entangled in legal matters. The PMC in 2012 came up with the option of cluster development for old wadas in its new draft development plan (2007-2027) for old city areas. But the plan remained on paper for many projects.