Those affected include the family (above) of Suresh Jain, who have lived here for 83 years; so, he filed the RTI application for more clarity; (right) Families are protesting the need for a metro station in the Old City area at all Months after the Pune Metro decided to relocate its Budhwar Peth station to Kasba Peth, officials apparently have no information about the proposed alignment layout or the distance between stations in the area. Around 288 families of Phadke Haud, who are likely to be affected by the new station, claim that officials are merely trying to conceal the details and leave residents in the dark. They have also pointed out that there is no need for a metro station in their locality as there are two others being planned a kilometre away on either side.It all began in April this year when officials approached Kasba Peth resident Suresh Jain for a survey and he realised that a metro station was being planned due to which he would need to relocate. Jain’s family have been living in the area for 83 years in a house bought by his grandfather.Taken aback, Jain filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to find out who all were being affected and to get clarity on the layout, the distance from the previous stations and the reason for the shift. To his surprise, the Pune Metro officials responded saying that they did not have the details.“We don’t have the details of why the station is being shifted. The construction will be done as per design and building methods. The layout will be proposed considering all technical aspects. So currently, the details for the distance are not available,” the reply stated.Alleging that officials were cheating the residents, Jain said, “People had approached us and asked us to fill up a form with details of our property. This is when we came to know about the change of plan for the metro station. So, on behalf of all the residents, I filed an RTI application asking for details. On one hand, the Pune Metro officials are publishing the old layouts on their website and social media pages. On the other, the people conducting these surveys have details of the proposed layouts. But when we file an official application, they claim that they don’t have the information. We don’t want to move houses. In fact, we don’t think a station is needed here since the other stations (Civil Court and Shrinath Talkies) are within a kilometre on either side.” Taking their cue from Jain, residents have now come together and written to the Metro authorities to scrap the proposed station entirely. Rajesh Chhajed, another resident, said “When we quiz the people conducting the survey, they just ask us to fill up the form, but refuse to give away details about the purpose of the survey and the proposed layout. While we have unofficially obtained copies of the layout in which the properties affected can be seen, when asked officially, they are denying us the details. Also, when we check their social media pages, they show the old alignments. How are we supposed to get clarity on what exactly is happening?”Reiterating on why there is no need for a station here, another resident, who asked not to be named, said, “The Metro is going to be underground so that won’t affect our homes. But if they construct the station here, we will be forced to relocate. There are two other stations nearby — why do they want one here?”When quizzed about the situation, Pune Metro officials merely said that the proposal is ready and ideally, the details should have been provided. Brijesh Dixit, managing director, Pune Metro, said “The survey is being done to minimise the destruction of properties and ensure that fewer families are affected. Also, while some properties will be damaged permanently, some will be used temporarily, where we are giving residents the option of coming back once the work is done. All of this can be decided only after the survey and hence people were asked to furnish details. But we are ready with the layouts and plans and the information should certainly have been provided to them. I will look into it and if they approach me, I am ready to discuss the details. However, since the area is densely populated, it is necessary that we have a station there.”

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