Pune, 20 December 2025: With the announcement of Pune Municipal Corporation elections, political activity across the city has picked up pace. While parties are busy with seat-sharing talks, interviews of aspirants, and internal meetings, the civic administration has begun preparations on the ground to manage the election process smoothly.
As part of these preparations, the Pune Municipal Corporation has finalised charges for using municipal grounds and public spaces for election campaigning. Candidates and political parties organising chowk meetings or corner meetings will be required to pay fees as per rates fixed by the encroachment removal department.
For a chowk meeting, space accommodating nearly 5,000 people will be provided by occupying about 2,000 square metres. The charge has been fixed at ₹9 per square metre, along with a cleaning fee of ₹2,000. In total, candidates will have to pay around ₹20,000 for one chowk meeting. An additional security deposit of ₹10,000 will also be collected.
Corner meetings, which can host up to 2,500 people, will be held on approximately 800 square metres of land. At the same rate of ₹9 per square metre and a ₹1,000 cleaning charge, the total fee for a corner meeting comes to ₹8,200. A deposit of ₹4,000 will be charged separately.
The civic body has made it clear that organising meetings without prior permission will be costly. If the required fees are not paid, the election department will recover the amount along with a penalty of one-and-a-half times the original charge.
Candidates must also obtain no-objection certificates from the traffic police and local police stations for chowk and corner meetings. Only a 10x10 temporary pavilion will be allowed, and no digging on roads or footpaths will be permitted. If roads are damaged for erecting tents, a fine of ₹2,000 per pit will be imposed.
Municipal playgrounds, amenity spaces, and school grounds may also be used for larger rallies, with charges calculated based on the area occupied. If multiple applications are received for the same location at the same time, the decision taken by the election officer will be final and binding on all applicants.
The civic administration has stated that these measures are aimed at ensuring orderly campaigning while preventing damage to public property during the election season.
