Pune: Why Has PMC’s Crackdown on Illegal Overhead Cables Gone Silent? Four Months Later, Questions Mount

Pune, 27th June 2026: Four months after the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) announced an aggressive crackdown on illegal overhead cables, the proposed drive has come to a standstill, with the civic body yet to finalise the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that it had cited as a prerequisite for enforcement.

Soon after assuming charge as Chairman of the PMC Standing Committee, Shrinath Bhimale had vowed strict action against unauthorised overhead cables across the city. However, following demands from cable operators for a clear SOP, the administration put the drive on hold and constituted a committee to frame guidelines for future action.

Despite the passage of four months, the committee has neither finalised the SOP nor formulated a policy, allowing unauthorised overhead cables to continue proliferating across Pune.

Bhimale had earlier maintained that the preparation of an SOP would not delay action against illegal cables. However, no enforcement has taken place since the committee was constituted, raising questions about both the Standing Committee’s announcements and the administration’s commitment to the drive.

The civic body had argued that overhead cables encourage telecom and internet service providers to avoid laying underground cables by bypassing the required road excavation permissions and charges. Besides contributing to visual clutter, this practice also results in a loss of revenue for the PMC.

The Standing Committee had claimed that shifting overhead cables underground could generate more than ₹100 crore annually for the civic body through road excavation and permission fees. However, with no cables shifted underground and no enforcement initiated, the PMC has not generated any additional revenue from the proposal.

The committee chairman had also announced plans to deploy specialised drones from Hyderabad to identify and remove illegal overhead cables. Four months later, the drones have not been procured, and the proposed enforcement drive remains limited to announcements, while unauthorised overhead cables continue to dot Pune’s skyline.