Pune Court rejects MIT’s plea seeking stay on PMC action regarding Vetal Tekdi Road

On Monday, a Local Court rejected a plea filed by the Maharashtra Academy of Engineering and Educational Research MAEER’s MIT seeking stay on removal of debris by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) used for the unauthorised development of road at Vetal Tekdi, according to the PMC law officer.

Civil Judge Junior division AB Tahsildar rejected MIT’s application thus giving a green signal to the PMC to continue its work of clearing the debris and demolishing the kuccha road that was being built by the college at Vetal Tekdi.

Lawyer for PMC Sanjay Murkute said, “Today the court rejected the application for temporary injunction sought by MIT. The only remedy available to the plaintiff (MIT) is an appeal under Section 47 of the MRTP Act to the state government and therefore the plaintiff cannot be permitted to ride two horses at a time. On this background, the order of status-quo which was granted earlier by the court is vacated and as of date, there’s no order stay on the action as per Section 53 of the MRTP Act. The copy of the order is awaited.”

According to Murkute, PMC had submitted in the court on MIT’s application for temporary injunction on the very ground that no development of any kind of whatsoever nature is permissible on the lands included within the Hill Top Hill Slope Zone (HTHS) is permissible under the relevant statutory provisions and the provisions of the Development Control and Promotion Regulations, 2017 (DCPR2017).

On 22 December 2020, the court heard both sides and further directed the counsels to submit written notes of argument.

Manjusha Idhate, Chief Law Officer, PMC, “We welcome the decision of the court. We will not allow any development in the green zone.”

After repeated attempts to contact MIT, there was no response from the administration.

On November 19, 2020, the PMC served a stop-work notice to the Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT), citing unauthorized work on the hill slope at survey no 123 in Kothrud whereas the MIT denied reports that any norms are being flouted while carrying out the work.

Following the campaign by residents which within 48 hours managed to get more than 30,000 signatures for a petition for saving the Vetal Tekdi, which is also marked by PMC as a draft heritage site, PMC issued strict instructions to MIT officials to excavate the ‘internal road,’ as well as clear the debris collected nearby housing societies.

A stop-work notice was issued to MIT citing unauthorized work on the hill slope at survey number 123 in Kothrud, and following which the PMC had dug up the road being constructed and ordered the institute to clear the debris within two days.

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