Pune Municipal Corporation has begun demolishing a six-storey unauthorised building constructed on land reserved for a playground in Kharadi, after repeated enforcement action failed to stop the construction from progressing. The demolition, which has continued for three days, will proceed until the entire structure is removed, the civic administration said.
The building stands on a 21,000-square-foot plot at Survey No. 63 and Line No. 12 in Kharadi. The plot is designated for a playground in Pune’s Development Plan and had remained vacant for several years. According to the report, two developers began construction there without permission from the municipal corporation.
The civic building department had previously carried out anti-encroachment action at the site three times following complaints from residents. Despite those interventions, construction continued and eventually resulted in a six-storey structure. Pune Municipal Corporation has now moved from partial enforcement to full demolition of the building.
Pravin Shende, the municipal corporation’s superintendent engineer, said Ganesh Gaikwad and other developers were involved in the construction. The civic administration had issued notices to the parties, but work allegedly continued after the notices were served. A criminal complaint is being processed against those responsible, Shende said.
The corporation also intends to recover the full cost of demolition from the developers in accordance with the law. The action follows a final enforcement operation reported to have taken place on 30 April 2026. The report says construction continued even after that action, prompting the municipal administration to begin dismantling the completed structure.
Local residents have alleged that commercial units and flats were being offered for sale in the building despite the absence of approval and the plot’s reserved status. The allegation raises concerns about prospective buyers being misled or defrauded if they were unaware that the property had no valid municipal permission and stood on land reserved for public recreational use.
The case also places scrutiny on how an unauthorised structure reached six storeys despite repeated action by the civic body. Residents have questioned why designated municipal officers did not detect or stop the construction earlier, and why the demolition took place only after the building had substantially come up.
Residents have further demanded an inquiry into how construction resumed after each enforcement operation, whether any influence enabled the work to continue, and why the corporation took so long to remove the structure. The municipal administration’s stated next steps are to complete the demolition, initiate criminal proceedings against the developers and recover the demolition expenses from those held responsible.
