Pune special township projects' documents to be uploaded online

The revenue branch of the Pune district collectorate will soon upload crucial documents related to special township projects in the district. The decision follows cases of citizens being duped after investing in illegal townships.

Special townships, as the name indicates, are conglomerates that function like mini-townships. The state government sanctions the building of the townships by granting special permission for large tracts of land designated for the purpose. As of date, there are seven such sanctioned townships in the district.

However, instances have come to light of citizens being duped after investing in townships, which do not have the requisite permission. Last year, the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Haveli had come across such a township on Katraj Hill, which was subsequently demolished.

Right to information (RTI) activist, Vijay Kumbhar, had asked the authorities to put the necessary permissions online as this would help citizens avoid fraud.

Seema Holkar, tehsildar of the revenue branch said, “The files relating to the special township projects are voluminous in nature and to scan and put all the documents online would be tedious. So the most important documents would be put
online soon.”

She said the notification of the state government for formation of the special township, permission of the town planning department, no-objection certificate from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, would be some of the documents that would be put online.

“Before investing in any township project, people should check if the government has accorded sanction to them,” she said.