Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had directed the municipal administration to provide compensation to those affected by the road-widening project, last week. Accordingly, on Saturday, municipal commissioner G Sreekanth met the affected people in the Mitmita area. He interacted with them and responded to various queries raised by property owners. He assured them that compensation would be given through TDR (Transferable Development Rights) and other means.
The municipal corporation has widened the road to 200 feet from Padegaon crematorium to Sharanapur Phata. During the road-widening drive carried out on July 3 and 4, a total of 857 unauthorised structures were demolished. However, 99 percent of property owners have not yet handed over the affected land to the corporation. In most places, the debris still lies as it is. Property owners have taken the stand that they will not surrender their land until they receive compensation.
Their contention is that although their unauthorised constructions were demolished, the land still belongs to them under ownership rights. “How can we give it away for free?” they have asked. Therefore, the municipal corporation has now decided to provide compensation as well. Citizens raised questions regarding land compensation and other issues. The administration provided information about TDR and other options. Citizens, in turn, assured the administration of their cooperation.
The meeting was attended by assistant commissioner Savita Sonawane, former corporator Salim Patel, BJP’s Deepak Bankar, and other dignitaries. The CSMC administrator also directed Savita Sonawane to organise a camp for property owners in the Mitmita–Padegaon area regarding plot regularisation and collecting property tax.