Pune, 4th August 2026: Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) narrowly avoided an unprecedented court action on Monday after assuring that it would pay nearly ₹12 crore in pending compensation to farmers by August 11.
The assurance came after the Small Causes Court ordered the seizure of the Municipal Commissioner's office assets, including his chair and laptop, over the civic body's continued failure to comply with court directions.
The case has once again brought the PMC's land acquisition process under scrutiny, with farmers alleging they have been waiting for fair compensation for over 21 years despite repeated judicial orders in their favour.
The dispute began after the PMC acquired around 100 acres of agricultural land in Uruli Devachi and Fursungi for establishing a garbage depot. While the acquisition award was declared in 2005, farmers claimed they were not paid adequate compensation for their land.
The matter eventually reached the courts, which directed the PMC to compensate the affected farmers at the then-prevailing market rate of ₹70,000 to ₹75,000 per guntha. However, the civic administration failed to implement the orders.
In 2018, relying on a Bombay High Court ruling, the farmers again approached the Small Causes Court seeking enforcement of the compensation order. Although the court once again directed the PMC to release the payment, the civic body delayed compliance while citing legal proceedings and proposed appeals.
With the compensation still unpaid, the Small Causes Court ordered the seizure of the Municipal Commissioner's office furniture, laptop and other official property.
Court bailiffs, accompanied by police personnel and the affected farmers, arrived at the PMC headquarters around 1 pm on Monday to execute the order. The development triggered confusion inside the civic headquarters as officials rushed to prevent the seizure.
Legal officers approached the court seeking relief while discussions continued for nearly three hours. The situation was resolved only after the PMC submitted an affidavit undertaking to clear the pending compensation by August 11, following which the court deferred the seizure proceedings.
The episode proved embarrassing for the civic administration and highlighted alleged negligence within the land acquisition department.
PMC Chief Legal Officer Nisha Chavan said the civic body had sought time until August 11 to make the payment and had formally submitted an affidavit before the court.
"The Pune Municipal Corporation sought time until August 11 to pay the farmers' compensation and submitted an affidavit before the court. In view of this assurance, the court did not proceed with the seizure action today," Chavan said.
Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said the administration would examine why the compensation remained unpaid despite court orders and would fix responsibility on the officials concerned.
"The court had ordered the seizure of the Commissioner's office assets. We will investigate why the compensation was not paid despite court directions and identify the officials responsible for the delay. Necessary action will be taken against those found accountable, and the farmers will receive their pending compensation," Ram said.
The compensation dispute has continued for more than two decades despite multiple court orders in favour of the farmers. The latest court action has raised fresh concerns over administrative accountability within the Pune Municipal Corporation.
Although the civic body manages an annual budget exceeding ₹15,000 crore, its inability to release nearly ₹12 crore in court-mandated compensation resulted in an unprecedented situation where judicial authorities reached the Commissioner's office to enforce the court's order.
