PCMC ‘neck-deep in debt’, ‘deposits splurged’: Ajit Pawar criticises BJP’s rule over civic body

Stating that the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) is ‘corruption ridden’ and ‘neck-deep in debt’, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is the national president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), on Friday criticised the BJP’s rule over the civic body from 2017 to 2022 as well as the tenure of the administrators thereafter for three years.

”During our time, PCMC had more than Rs 4,400 crore deposits. Now, in the last nine years, PCMC’s deposits have come down drastically. Besides, PCMC now is massively debt-ridden,” said Pawar at a press conference in Pimpri-Chinchwad. NCP leaders Yogesh Behl, Nana Kate, Vilas Lande, Anna Bansode and others were present.

”PCMC deposits in all these years should have gone up to Rs 10,000 crore…. However, they have dipped to a new low of Rs 2,000 crore. This also means Rs 8,000 crore worth deposits have been unlocked. If so much of money has been used, then it should also reflect in the development works on ground. Where is the development?.. Besides, PCMC has also been resorting to floating bonds. These are loans which have impacted the civic body seriously,” he said.

Alleging that there was unnecessary expenditure by the PCMC officials, the Deputy CM said, ”The civic departments have been found to be spending money on unnecessary works more than their budgetory allocations. The civil works department for instance has spent Rs 2,700 crore more than its allocated budget.”

The Deputy CM said the rulers in the last nine years lacked vision and proper planning. ”Roads are riddled with potholes, traffic jams have become the order of the day, widths of footpaths have grown and roads have become smaller, river pollution continues to remain on the higher side,” he alleged.

Highlighting the worsening traffic situation in Pimpri-Chinchwad, the Deputy Chief Minister said, ”During the NCP’s tenure, citizens could reach their destination from Nigdi to Dapodi in 10 minutes. Now, they are caught in long traffic jams…The traffic situation has worsened in the last nine years.”

Stating that roads are in an atrocious state in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pawar said, ”Like the land mafia, sand mafia, the road digging mafia is operating in Pimpri-Chinchwad. They have completed destroyed the road network in the industrial city. Telecom companies are digging the roads illegally without taking any permission.”

In the name of urban street design, Pawar said roads have been destroyed. “Foothpaths have widened and roads have become narrow. There are encroachments on foothpaths everywhere. There is no space for parking. Vehicles are also parked right under Metro stations and on the roads. The rulers failed to implement a parking policy during their tenure. There is need for a leadership, which will have a vision and will know what to prioritise in a particular area,” he said adding that crores of rupees were lost in the two projects of e-cycles and smart parking app.

Pawar said ”rings” are formed by contractors to claim civic tenders. ”They form ‘ring’ to claim tenders jointly. The tender amount is inflated…Whiteners have been used to make secret changes in the tender documents. For just a one-and-half kilometre road, the rulers sanctioned Rs 81 crore. Roads which are made at high expenditure in Pimpri-Chinchwad can easily be made with lesser amount,” he said alleging that some leaders have accumulated a huge amount of wealth.

Pawar said though there was a lockdown during Covid-19, it was shown that thousands of stray dogs had been sterilised and an amount of Rs 71 lakh was spent on them.

The NCP president said PCMC implemented e-classroom project. ”However, it could not provide internet connectivity. Therefore, students had to use their mobile or private connections,” he alleged.

Pawar said during the BJP rule, a standing committee chairman was arrested for taking bribe. ”This never happened in the civic history before,” he said.

Not sparing the BJP rule of the PCMC, Pawar said, ”During our tenure, we never saw the kind of corruption and loot that we saw from 2017. If people bring us back to power, we will bring restore the former glory of PCMC,” he said.

“We want to slay the demon of corruption…They are power hungry..There is open loot going on,” said Pawar said while pointing out how the face of PCMC started transforming first under the tenure of his uncle Sharad Pawar and then under his leadership from 1991. “But we never got power hungry,” he said.

As for the unopposed election of two BJP candidates, Pawar said, ”During our tenure too, candidates were elected unopposed but this happened as per democratic norms and constitutional provisions. But today, there is so much terror in some areas that candidates are afraid to file their nominations.”

BJP’s Ravi Landge was elected unopposed from ward number 6 of Pimpri-Chinchwad on Thursday. On Friday, Supriya Chandgude, also from the BJP, was elected unopposed from ward number 10. There were four candidates in the fray, including one the from NCP and MNS. All of them withdrew from the fray. BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe credited Chandgude’s victory to the trust shown by the people and proper planning by the party.