On Wednesday, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limited construction activities to 14 hours per day following residents’ concerns regarding pollution. “Effective immediately, all construction and excavation activities within the Pune municipal limits will only be allowed from 7am to 9pm,” stated a directive issued by city engineer Aniruddha Pawaskar on Wednesday.
He mentioned that the directive was prompted by an increase in health-related complaints from residents due to construction activities. “If any complaints are substantiated, measures such as halting work will be implemented,” he informed .
As per officials from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), residents affected by noise or air pollution from construction can file complaints with the civic administration. They may contact the PMC care helpline or reach out to the building permission department. Environmental expert Vaishali Patkar remarked, “The civic administration must closely monitor construction sites. Increased manpower should be allocated for this task. Implementing measures such as GPS-enabled cameras for monitoring teams to identify violators of regulations could be beneficial.”
According to data from the PMC, approximately 2,500 building permissions are granted annually within the civic limits. This number is expected to rise as the PMC has now assumed the role of planning authority for the 23 merged areas. Opposition parties have claimed there is an “imbalance” in the allocation of funds within the PMC budget for 2026-27.
Congress corporators asserted that representatives from opposition parties did not receive sufficient funding. NCP corporators criticized the budget as being “unrealistic” due to its lack of specific measures to enhance the civic body’s revenue. A special general body meeting was convened on Wednesday to deliberate on the civic budget.
