Residents around Shaniwar Wada stage protest, demand lifting of ban on reconstruction within 100 m of protected monuments
Residents living around the historic Shaniwar Wada on Sunday staged a protest demanding that heritage laws prohibiting reconstruction within 100 metres of protected monuments be repealed. Members of the Shaniwar Wada Heritage Victims' Committee gathered holding placards that read: 'No begging, we want a house of our right', calling current laws unjust and outdated.
The protesters demanded that restrictive laws barring reconstruction within 100 metres of protected monuments such as Shaniwar Wada be abolished. They said that families living in the area for generations are now facing displacement due to regulations under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2010. The law, enacted by Parliament, prohibits redevelopment or new construction within 100 metres of monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), including Shaniwar Wada and Pataleshwar.
Sunil Tambat, chairman of the committee, said, 'Residents whose families have been here since the time of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the Peshwas are now forced to live in crumbling structures, with no legal rights to rebuild. Most cannot afford to buy homes elsewhere. These heritage laws have left us trapped.'
Sunday's protest was attended by several local residents and activists, including Mayuresh Pawar, Ganesh Nalawade, Sanjay Fengde, Kundan Tambat, Anupama Majumdar, Swapnil Thorve, and others. The committee plans to continue its agitation until the demands of its members are met.
In March 2023, the committee had also written to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) seeking permission for total reconstruction of dilapidated houses and a reconsideration of ASI norms. However, there was no response which prompted the Sunday protest.
The issue has grown more urgent due to the deteriorating condition of several traditional wadas—historic residential structures—in nearby areas like Kasba Peth, Budhwar Peth, Shaniwar Peth, and Nana Peth.
According to a 2022-23 survey conducted by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), 57 such wadas located within 100 metres of Shaniwar Wada were declared dangerous. Of these, 26 structures fall under the C1 category (extremely unsafe and uninhabitable); while 31 fall under the C2 (moderately unsafe) category. Every monsoon, the PMC begins the process of evicting residents from these buildings to prevent accidents.
PMC executive engineer Supriya Walse-Patil clarified, 'As per the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR), residents are allowed to repair structures within 100 metres of Shaniwar Wada. However, any redevelopment or new construction still requires approval from the archaeological department, which remains restricted under ASI rules.'
Local MLA Hemant Rasane, representing the Kasba Peth constituency, acknowledged the limitations of current laws and the plight of residents. 'The ASI law is the same across India. Changing it requires a central government policy decision. We are following up on the matter with the Centre. In addition to this, redevelopment of wadas poses a separate set of challenges, and I am actively working with the state government to find a solution.'
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There was also a back gate where there was no security. So who put the cash in the outhouse? How much cash was there? Whether it was genuine or fake… all that has to be investigated. What did the fire service officers do after they reached the spot; what did they do after they extinguished the fire? They should have wondered how such a fire can be the result of a short circuit in a room with only one fan and a tubelight. Did they tell the family members about the presence of cash? In fact, there is no evidence that they did… Was (Justice Varma's) daughter close enough to see what was in the outhouse? She was asked to stay a distance from the outhouse, from where she could not see what was inside. Neither personnel of the Delhi Police nor members of the Fire Service Department told any member of the family and those present in the house that they discovered burnt cash. They never told the Judge's PS. Why did the Delhi Police not seize the alleged half-burnt cash? The tape showed that remnants of cash were present. You needed only one note with a serial number to figure out which bank it came from. Much could have been inferred after that. Why did the Delhi Police not do that? Why did they not cordon off the premises? Why did they not keep a vigil throughout? Why did they not lodge an FIR?… Why was all this not done? They looked into what? They never looked into why the Delhi Police didn't do what they were supposed to do? The committee said that is not part of their remit… They didn't look into how members of the Fire Services Department conducted themselves… I have great regard for each of (the judges), but if they were asked to hold an inquiry, they should have looked into issues which (were) obvious. 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In this case, the MPs have no facts to go by other than alleged burnt cash, without knowing its origins. You are using an in-house procedure to supplant an inquiry without a motion, and you want to remove the judge. Just look at the facts. On the 14th of March, a fire broke out around 11.30 pm. The daughter of the judge hears a blast and goes to the site along with the house staff. When the door is opened, the fire flares up, so they back off. Neither the CRPF nor anybody else comes to help… She is the one who calls the fire services people. The Delhi Police comes thereafter. The fire is doused. The police don't do a thing… They – neither the Fire Services Department nor the Delhi Police – inform the family that cash was found. The judge returns on the 15th. He goes to meet his mother, comforts her. He doesn't go to that site at that point… The committee surprisingly presumes that (this is) because he knew that cash was there and that it belonged to him. The judge is not aware that cash was found at the site till the 17th, when the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court shows him the tape. He is, of course, shocked. Thereafter on the 20th of March, the Judge (Varma) is transferred. He doesn't protest against the transfer. Again, the inquiry report holds that he should have protested and, because he did not, it is evidence of guilt. On March 25, the in-house procedure starts, which does not associate the judge in any substantial way. They examine the fire services people, the Delhi Police, CRPF… they issue him (Justice Varma) a show-cause notice. He files a reply on April 30, and requests that he be given a hearing, which was afforded to the judges concerned in all previous cases. That hearing is not given. What is said in his reply is not countered, and a report is given on the 4th of May, possibly because Chief Justice Khanna was to retire soon thereafter… They may inquire if they find the evidence sufficiently compelling. 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We are not at that stage at all, and the judge has not asked me to appear for him… The issues raised by me are questions that any thinking person must ask before destroying somebody's career and reputation. The government is using this flimsy information to demoralise the judiciary, to take forward their agenda of an NJAC (National Judicial Appointments Commission) in which the final authority for appointing judges to the superior courts is the government… The whole idea seems to be to get the nation to believe that the judiciary is corrupt and therefore we need to change the system… I hope and I trust that the Opposition will not let it happen.
