Hypocrisy Exposed: Pune Municipal Corporation Fails to Follow Its Own Road Digging Rules

Pune, 16th July 2023: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is facing criticism for its failure to adhere to its own deadline regarding road digging works. While private contractors were expected to complete their projects by the end of June, the PMC’s own departments have continued with similar activities, causing significant inconvenience to citizens.

Civic activists have accused the PMC of hypocrisy, stating that the civic body allows routine work under the guise of emergency projects while failing to coordinate effectively between different departments. This lack of coordination has resulted in delays in the completion of the works, further exacerbating the inconvenience faced by the public.

PMC officials have defended their decision, stating that they have only permitted projects such as the 24×7 water supply plan to continue. These initiatives require ongoing road digging as they are part of large-scale endeavors, and any postponement would lead to substantial financial losses for the public.

However, civic officials have imposed fines on contractors who have conducted unauthorized road digging in the Nagar road, Warje, and Sinhagad Road areas.

Last year, PMC faced public outrage due to widespread road digging and substandard repairs during the monsoon season. In response to the criticism, the corporation blacklisted 13 contractors and took action against civic officials. Additionally, 23 engineers were fined Rs 15,000 each for their failure to adequately supervise road works. The PMC also levied penalties on 33 contractors for poor quality work during the defect liability period, as the repaired stretches were filled with potholes even within the guarantee period.

According to officials, any pothole measuring 1 square meter attracts a fine of Rs 5,000, with higher penalties for larger potholes. Additional charges of Rs 5,000 per square meter apply beyond the initial 1 square meter.

Aniruddha Pawaskar, the head of PMC’s water supply department, reassured commuters, stating, “We are undertaking small patches of road digging, ranging from 50 meters to 100 meters, completing the necessary repairs, and then proceeding to the next road-digging work. Our aim is to minimize the impact on commuters.”

V G Kulkarni, head of PMC’s road department, explained, “The delay in these works has had a cascading effect on the 24×7 water supply project, leading to increased costs. Therefore, a special provision has been made to allow the project and its related works to proceed.”