Pune: PMC Under Fire for Clearing Rs 29 Crore Bill for Incomplete Integrated Control and Command Centre

Pune, 11th August 2025: The Pune Municipal Corporation’s ambitious ₹52 crore Integrated Control and Command Centre (ICCC) project has landed in controversy after it emerged that ₹29 crore has been paid to the contractor, MAHAPREIT (Mahatma Phule Renewable Energy and Infrastructure Technology Limited), despite key components of the work remaining incomplete.

The ICCC is intended to centralize the management of various city facilities — from open spaces, hospitals, schools, and police establishments to drainage lines, streetlights, water supply, and traffic signals — through advanced 3D twin mapping and software integration. The mapping work is being carried out with Google’s technology and aims to provide secure, consolidated records of all public and private infrastructure in the city.

However, sources within the municipal administration have pointed out that the project’s mapping and verification stages are far from finished. While 85% of services and assets have reportedly been mapped, critical surveys — such as those for underground drainage lines and water pipelines — remain pending. Moreover, discrepancies have been noted in the classification of certain facilities; for instance, multiple school sections (kindergarten, primary, secondary, junior college) within the same campus have been recorded as a single building.

Despite these shortcomings, the civic administration cleared MAHAPREIT’s payment request for ₹29 crore. Allegations have surfaced that senior officials may be shielding the company under political pressure.

The ICCC is being developed by upgrading the previous Smart City control centre on Sinhagad Road. According to officials, the project duration is five years, and the software platform for the centre has already been prepared.

“About 85 percent of the services and assets have been mapped under the ICCC project. Software has also been prepared. A bill of ₹29 crore has been paid to MAHAPREIT for this work. The survey of underground services — drainage and pipeline works — has not been done yet,” confirmed Ganesh Sonune, Deputy Commissioner, Disaster Management Department, Pune Municipal Corporation.

The controversy has raised questions about payment protocols and quality checks in high-value civic projects, with demands growing for a thorough audit before further disbursements are made.