Action against 36 unauthorised bungalows: A sense of disbelief and betrayal as dream homes reduced to rubble

PUNE: Gyanprasad Yadav, who had moved to Pimpri Chinchwad from Uttar Pradesh two decades ago, was in tears as he helplessly watched Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation officials pulling down his dream home on Saturday. Earlier this year, his furniture shop in Kudalwadi was among more than 4,000 illegal establishments demolished by the civic body. "I lost my business a few months ago, and now I have lost the roof over my head," the 60-year-old said, adding that he invested around Rs35 lakh — his entire life's savings — in constructing the house.Many of the 36 owners, whose bungalows were razed by the civic body as they were located in the blue flood line of the Indrayani river in Chikhali, alleged that civic officials promised no action against their houses in exchange for bribes."We were betrayed. For a one-storey structure, people paid Rs50,000, while for a two-storey building, we paid Rs1 lakh each. We were given water and electricity connections and have regularly paid property tax for the last four years. How can they now claim the homes were illegal?" Mahendra Vispute asked.His son, Shailesh, who claimed that he is still paying a monthly EMI of Rs44,000 on a home loan, said they were misled by the developer. "He told us that the plots were in a residential zone." Municipal commissioner Shekhar Singh told TOI that the action was carried out in accordance with an NGT order. "If residents submit a written complaint that they paid money to PCMC officials to avoid demolition, we will investigate the matter. If the allegations are proved, the officials concerned will be suspended, and we will lodge a police complaint against them."Shashikant Chaudhary, 43, said he had no option but to send his family to stay with relatives. "I sold two acres of farmland and cleared out all my savings to raise nearly Rs70 lakh which I spent in building my only home in the city with good interiors. Now, everything has been reduced to rubble," he said.The joy of living in his own house was short-lived for Rehbar Shaikh, who, days ago moved in after spending more than 20 years in rented accommodation.Mahesh Patil, another owner, said the municipal corporation should have marked the blue flood line to prevent constructions. "We received the Supreme Court order on May 9 and the corporation on May 15 asked us to vacate. Since it had been raining for the last three days, some of us did not even get time to shift our belongings," he said.