Pune: PMC’s Rs 700 Crore In Fixed Deposit Sparks Debate Over Fund Utilization
Pune, 23rd May 2025: Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has deposited a substantial amount of money into fixed deposits (FDs), including ₹700 crore recently approved by the Standing Committee. Over the past six months, PMC has invested a total of ₹1,700 crore in FDs, drawing from various income sources such as revenue collections, contractor deposits, and bank guarantees.
Each year, PMC plans its budget to balance income and expenditures. Any surplus funds are typically invested in nationalized banks. Due to the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections last year, the city’s financial activities were constrained for around seven to eight months, resulting in significant unspent funds. Consequently, the administration invested approximately ₹500 crore in January, followed by another ₹500 crore last month, and now an additional ₹700 crore has been locked into fixed deposits.
Despite these large sums being held by the corporation, ward offices lack sufficient funds for smaller, local development works like street repairs and maintenance. Citizens often report being told by officials that funds are unavailable for requested projects.
Reportedly, the funds held by PMC remain inaccessible for such works because development contractors must first recover their bank guarantees and security deposits after project completion. These amounts, therefore, cannot be spent freely and are instead kept as fixed deposits in banks.
