PMC's Special 26 Cell Drafts Fresh Plan for 23 Merged Villages

Five years after 23 villages on Pune's outskirts were folded into city limits, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has finally taken charge of planning their future. The Pune Municipal Corporation has begun the process of preparing a fresh Development Plan for the 23 villages merged into its limits by establishing a dedicated 26-member Special 26 Development Plan Cell, following the PMC General Body's approval to prepare the DP after the Maharashtra government scrapped the earlier plan prepared by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

The backstory explains why this handover matters. The Maharashtra government had merged 23 villages on Pune's outskirts into the PMC limits in June 2021, but instead of assigning the responsibility of preparing the Development Plan to the civic body, the state had designated PMRDA as the planning authority. That decision proved controversial. The PMRDA's draft Development Plan later attracted criticism and several complaints, with allegations that it proposed converting agricultural land into residential zones, introduced questionable reservations at select locations, and favoured large developers. The draft plan prepared by PMRDA received around 65,000 objections and suggestions, leading the current government to scrap it.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stepped in directly to resolve the impasse. Several complaints were subsequently submitted to the state government, and following these objections, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed that the draft plan prepared by PMRDA be scrapped. After the PMRDA plan was cancelled, the state government transferred the responsibility of preparing the development plan for the 23 villages to PMC. Even before the formal handover, the CM had pushed for a structured approach. Fadnavis instructed PMC to begin work on a Development Plan for the 23 villages recently incorporated into the city limits, stressing that a comprehensive structural plan must be prepared first, believing this would ensure more organised and sustainable growth in the long run.

On the ground, PMC has moved swiftly through the statutory steps. The City Improvement Committee of the PMC unanimously approved a key proposal to officially initiate the process of preparing a Development Plan for the 23 villages, and under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, PMC will now declare its intention to prepare a Development Plan for these areas. Aniruddha Pavaskar, City Engineer in PMC's Town Planning Department, will be appointed as the Town Planning Officer for the project. The proposal then cleared the next hurdle. The General Body approved a proposal to declare its intention to prepare a Development Plan for these villages and appointed City Engineer Aniruddha Pavaskar as the planning officer for the process.

To execute the plan, PMC has now staffed up a dedicated unit. The civic administration has established a dedicated Development Plan Cell under Executive Engineer Dinesh Girolla, comprising five Deputy Engineers, six Branch Engineers, one Junior Engineer, four Draftsmen, two Architectural Draftsmen, three Typists, and four support staff, all assigned full-time to the project. This is the team now popularly referred to as the 'Special 26' cell.

On timelines, officials are cautiously optimistic. PMC officials said the corporation has a statutory period of two years to prepare the draft development plan, but since substantial groundwork had already been completed by PMRDA, the existing data and studies could be utilised, potentially reducing the time required to prepare the new plan. The broader process, however, will still take time. The roadmap includes a survey of existing land use across the 23 villages, planning future land use based on projected population growth over the next 20 years, publication of the draft development plan for public objections and suggestions, hearings by a government-appointed committee, approval by the PMC General Body, submission to the state government for final approval, and notification of the final development plan by the state government. Officials expect the entire process to be completed within three years.

For residents and homebuyers, the villages covered under this plan span a wide arc of Pune's growth corridors. The villages included in this expansion are Mhalunge, Sus, Bavdhan Budruk, Kirkatwadi, Pisoli, Kondhave Dhawade, Kopre, Nanded, Khadakwasla, Manjari Budruk, Narhe, Holkarwadi, Autade Handewadi, Wadachiwadi, Shewalewadi, Nandoshi, Sansnagar, Mangdewadi, Bhilarewadi, Gujar-Nimbalkarwadi, Jambhulwadi, Kolhewadi and Wagholi. Many of these areas already see brisk residential activity, but civic gaps remain a real concern. Despite being merged into PMC nearly five years ago, residents in these villages continue to face a lack of basic infrastructure such as roads, parks, playgrounds, and cultural facilities.

City leaders are framing this as a turning point for the region. PMC House Leader Ganesh Bidkar said approval of this proposal is a crucial step towards ensuring balanced and long-term development of the 23 villages through a structured planning framework. For homebuyers eyeing Pune's expanding suburbs, a finalised DP means clearer zoning, defined road networks, and predictable building permissions — the kind of certainty that has been missing since 2021. The exercise will include planning for roads, public infrastructure, open spaces, amenities, utilities, land reservations, and zoning regulations that will guide future development across the merged villages. Until the draft is published and objections are settled, though, both buyers and developers in these micro-markets should expect a period of transition before the new rules take final shape.