Pune: Amid Fund Diversion Row, PMC Chief Bars Transfer of Central Funds to Wards
Pune, 14th November 2026: Amid a controversy over the diversion of funds earmarked for development works in the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) budget to other electoral wards, municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram has issued a directive prohibiting the transfer of funds allocated to the civic body’s central departments for works under ward offices.
In a circular, the commissioner said such transfers were not appropriate from the perspective of financial planning and directed all central departments not to make their budgetary allocations available for works under ward offices without following the prescribed financial provisions.
The directive comes amid a row over a standing committee resolution to divert around Rs 5.5 crore earmarked in the budget for development works in the Kasewadi-Dias Plot area of ward 22 to ward 23-D. BJP corporators have opposed the move, while Congress corporator Rafiq Shaikh has also sought its cancellation, alleging that the funds were diverted without taking the elected representatives concerned into confidence.
A similar controversy has emerged over the diversion of around Rs 5.5 crore reserved for two development works in the Bund Garden area to road works in the Taljai area.
However, the commissioner’s circular does not clarify the status of fund transfers already approved by the standing committee. It only prohibits central departments from directly making their budgetary allocations available for works under ward offices.
