Stop Education Board Corruption or Face Agitation : Chetan Pawar

• Shiv Sena (UBT) Leader Opposes Punawale School Land Lease, Raises Questions Over Education Board, River Pollution and Civic Decisions

Pimpri : Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Pimpri-Chinchwad city president Chetan Pawar has warned of a strong agitation if alleged corruption and mismanagement in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) Education Board are not stopped.

Addressing a press conference in Pimpri on Friday, Pawar alleged that the civic body was attempting to hand over the reserved land meant for a municipal school in Punawale to a private organisation at a nominal rate. He demanded that the land be used by PCMC to establish a quality school for underprivileged children instead of giving it to private institutions.

“Handing over the reserved land of a municipal school to a private organisation is a form of privatisation of the civic body. The Municipal Commissioner should not approve this proposal. If it continues, Shiv Sena (UBT) will launch a strong protest,” Pawar said.

He alleged that the reserved land in Punawale was proposed to be given on lease to East Oxford International Foundation. According to him, the Land Records Department has fixed the rent at ₹3.60 per square foot, and he questioned the basis on which the rate was decided.

Pawar also raised objections over the distribution of school uniforms to municipal school students. He alleged that a proposal to award the work to Jagdamba Mahila Readymade Dresses was passed without following a tender process. He demanded cancellation of the proposal and implementation of a transparent legal tender process.

Speaking about environmental issues, Pawar claimed that the Pavana River, which supplies water to Pimpri-Chinchwad city, is facing severe neglect. He alleged that debris is being dumped into the riverbed, reducing its width, and that untreated water is being released into the river through direct pipelines at some locations. He also alleged that gambling activities and garbage dumping are taking place under the Ravet highway bridge.

Pawar further alleged irregularities in construction activities at Survey No. 64/2/1 in Tathawade. He claimed that the Town Planning Department had shown a drain on the land, but while approving the plan, the drain was shifted in a C-shape, which could cause losses to citizens. He demanded cancellation of the construction permission.

He also criticised the civic administration for allegedly failing to transfer the Tathawade Zilla Parishad school to PCMC despite a government order issued in 2013.

“If the administration does not stop these irregularities, Shiv Sena (UBT) will intensify its agitation,” Chetan Pawar warned.

Those present at the press conference included Deputy District Chief Romi Sandhu, City Coordinator Kailas Nevaskar, City Office Secretary Dnyaneshwar Shinde, District Organiser Anita Tutare, Chinchwad Assembly Organiser Vaishali Katkar, Vaishali Kulthe, Pimpri Deputy City Chief Amol Nikam, Parth Gurav, Dilip Sawant, Shrimant Giri, Vishal Chavan, Yogesh Raut, Ujjwala Sawant, Taslim Shaikh, Kalavati Natekar, Baby Sayyed, Poonam Rithe and Vandana Khandagale.