Low-res DP maps irk civic activists

Taking up the cudgels against the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), civic activists have drafted a letter to the chief minister, complaining that the civic body is misguiding the citizens through incomplete information and unclear maps.u00a0

The PMC has categorised details of the DP thorough maps on its website regarding the existing land structure, reserved land, and TDR zone sector wise. Reservations have been shown in different colours. But, activists say, the resolution of the maps is very low, which when zoomed in is not visible.

"The PMC has intentionally kept the resolution very low so common people cannot view the maps. Many citizens cannot visit the PMC office to study or observe the map and hence the Internet is an important tool to reach out to the masses.

The current resolution of the maps is 78 pixels, which is not sufficient. A minimum 200-pixel image is necessary so that after zooming in, people can observe the minute details. We had demanded the PMC officials to update the maps, but they clearly refused. I have complained to the state government by sending a letter to the chief minister," said Ujwal Keskar, president, Pune Janahit Aghadi.

Till now, the PMC has received around 5,000 suggestions and objections, which, in comparison to the website visitors, is very low. Recently, the civic body claimed that people who live outside the city are taking keen interest in the DP. Awareness about DP as increased due to the availability on the website, said activists.

"It is impossible to understand the DP without the help of an expert. The PMC has not specified abbreviations properly, which is major obstacle in understanding the DP. The scale used in the graph is also inept. Same shade of colours to differentiate reservations is creating confusion. This was not the case in the previous DP of 1987," said civic activist Vijay Kumbhar. He also said that if they don't get any response from the state government, they would file a case against the PMC.