Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram has ordered a detailed report after enforcement action against an allegedly unauthorised ready-mix concrete (RMC) plant in the Wadgaon-Dhayari area was cancelled twice in five months, raising questions about how civic action is planned and withdrawn.
According to a report by Sakal, the Pune Municipal Corporation had planned action against RMC plants located near the riverbank and a canal in Wadgaon Khurd and adjoining Dhayari. Police security was reportedly sought for the operation, but the action was stopped at the last moment. A second operation planned on the morning of October 19 was also cancelled.
The repeated withdrawals have drawn attention because the PMC has recently taken action against several other allegedly illegal RMC plants. Seven plants in the Lohgaon-Khandwe Nagar area and five in Undri were among facilities reportedly demolished or sealed during the wider enforcement drive.
The issue has a direct environmental and public-health dimension. Sakal reported that Pune city and district have an estimated 300 to 325 RMC plants, most of which are allegedly operating without required permissions. Violations at such facilities can generate substantial dust, affecting nearby residents and workers. The affected Wadgaon-Dhayari locations are also near a river and canal, adding a civic enforcement and land-use concern to the dispute.
Commissioner Ram told Sakal that he had not been aware that the action against the Wadgaon Khurd plant was scheduled. He said the operation was stopped after an individual sent a message requesting that the civic administration hear the plant operator’s position. Ram said that if an investigation establishes that the plants in Wadgaon and Dhayari are unauthorised, action will be taken without yielding to pressure.
He has instructed city engineer Aniruddha Pawaskar to submit detailed information about the matter. The commissioner also directed that he and the additional commissioner must be informed before any future enforcement operation is conducted in the city. If a planned action is cancelled, he said, his approval must be obtained.
The episode exposes a gap between the PMC’s stated enforcement drive and the internal process used to implement it. The commissioner’s remarks indicate that field-level planning and senior administrative oversight were not aligned in this case. The immediate question is not only whether the Wadgaon-Dhayari plants have valid permissions, but also why an operation backed by police deployment was withdrawn twice before the civic authority completed its stated review.
The PMC’s next step is to examine the status of the plants and the circumstances surrounding the cancelled operations. The commissioner has said that enforcement will follow if the investigation confirms unauthorised activity.
