PCMC Ordered to Publish Development Plan in Marathi After Public Outcry

pune | The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has released a new Development Plan (DP), which was published on the civic body’s official website. A two-month period was given for citizens to submit suggestions and objections, during which 49,600 responses were received. However, citizens have criticised the plan for being published only in English, accusing the civic administration of deliberately ignoring Marathi language. In response, the state’s Urban Development Department (UDD) has directed Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh to publish the DP in Marathi.

Due to the use of English, many Marathi-speaking citizens could not fully understand or interpret the contents of the plan. Had the DP been published in Marathi, the number of citizens submitting feedback would likely have been even higher.

As per the Maharashtra Official Language Act, 1964, Section 4(1), all official documents, reports, and communication by government and semi-government offices in the state are required to be in Marathi. Further, the Maharashtra Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2021, under Section 4(2), mandates that all municipal corporations and councils conduct their administrative work in Marathi. Despite this, the UDD prepared the DP in English. This plan, therefore, remains accessible primarily to engineers, architects, lawyers, or domain experts.

The general public, whose land and rights are directly affected by this plan, has been unable to comprehend it. Law student Anish Kalbhor had filed a request for the plan to be made available in Marathi. Additionally, Maval MP Shrirang Barne had also urged the state government to ensure that the DP be translated into Marathi.

Finally, the UDD has instructed Shekhar Singh to act according to the rules. As a result, the path has been cleared for the DP to be made available in Marathi. However, questions are now being raised about whether the private agency appointed for this task will actually carry out the translation in Marathi.

Anish Kalbhor, law student, said, “There was a demand for the complete text and maps of the DP to be accurately translated into high quality Marathi at an administrative level and published on the municipal website. It should also be made available in printed form for public access. The administration was expected to ensure that the plan reaches all citizens. If the plan had been available in Marathi, more people would have understood it and submitted objections. Now that the state government has issued the order, the commissioner should ensure that the plan is released in Marathi.”