PCMC warns of action against those entering 640 vacant slum rehabilitation flats in Nigdi

The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has issued a stern warning over the vacant flats in the slum rehabilitation project at Peth No. 22 in Nigdi. The 640 flats built in the project are currently empty. The civic body has made it clear that strict legal action will be taken against anyone who tries to enter or take possession of them.

The warning followed reports that some people were forcing their way into the vacant flats and trying to live there without permission. The corporation has also received complaints that some individuals are instigating others to take over the flats. The administration said anyone found entering a flat without permission will face action.

The project was built under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme. A total of 11,760 flats were planned under the scheme. Work on 3,440 of them has been completed, and 2,880 of these have been handed over to eligible beneficiaries.

The remaining 640 flats are lying vacant because of a legal dispute. The case relating to the project is pending in the Bombay High Court, which has ordered that status quo be maintained. Because of this stay, both the allotment and the construction of these flats have been halted.

Under the order, no construction, allotment or any other action is permitted in the project. Municipal officials said there has been no new legal development in the case so far and the court's order remains in force.

The PCMC has appealed to citizens not to fall for anyone's false promises and not to take any step that could land them in legal trouble. The corporation's position is that no one should move into flats whose allotment has been stopped by the court's order.