The Pune Municipal Corporation has begun demolishing a six-storey unauthorised building constructed on land reserved for a playground in Kharadi, after construction allegedly continued despite three earlier enforcement actions. The demolition, which has been under way for three days, will continue until the structure is completely removed, the civic administration said.
The building stands on a 21,000-square-foot plot at Survey Number 63 and Line Number 12 in Kharadi. The plot is designated for a playground in the Pune Municipal Corporation’s development plan and had remained vacant for several years.
According to the report, two developers began construction on the reserved land without obtaining permission from the civic body. The construction department acted three times following complaints from local residents. However, work reportedly continued after each action, eventually resulting in the construction of a six-storey building.
Pravin Shende, the civic body’s superintendent engineer, said that Ganesh Gaikwad and other developers were involved in the construction. He said the corporation had issued notices to the concerned parties and would initiate the process of registering a criminal case because construction continued despite those notices.
The corporation will also recover the full cost of demolition from the parties concerned, according to Shende. The recovery will be carried out under the applicable rules, he said.
The final enforcement action before the demolition began was carried out on 30 April 2026. Despite that action, construction allegedly continued, prompting the civic administration to start dismantling the building directly. The report did not provide details of the exact demolition equipment or the projected completion date.
Local residents have alleged that commercial units and flats in the unauthorised building were being offered for sale. This has raised concerns that buyers who were unaware of the building’s legal status could be exposed to financial loss. The report did not establish whether any transactions had been completed or identify the number of purchasers involved.
The case also raises questions about how construction on a plot reserved for a public playground progressed to six storeys despite repeated municipal action. Residents have sought an inquiry into how the designated officers failed to detect or stop the construction earlier, why work continued after enforcement measures, and why demolition was delayed.
Residents have also demanded an investigation into whether the project received political backing. The report records this as a demand and does not establish that any political person or organisation supported the construction. The municipal corporation’s stated next steps are to continue the demolition, pursue criminal proceedings against the concerned parties and recover the demolition expenditure under the rules.
