The Times of India          17.02.2014

PMC plans policy to give out cycles, material for study

PUNE: The allotment of cycles and educational material to students in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) schools could come in time in future. The civic administration has planned a policy for time-bound distribution.

"There are several issues when it comes to allotment of educational material. Absence of pre-planning is delaying the distribution. Ultimately, students suffer. So, the standing committee has taken a call to form a policy for allotment of these materials," said Shrinivas Kandul, head of PMC's store department, told TOI.

He added that the policy will be drafted and tabled before the standing committee. It will have a detailed timeline about issuing tenders, giving work orders, procurement of material and then its distribution.

The timetable should be formed in such a manner that the material reaches the schools around May or June, before the start of the new academic year. Apart from cycles, the policy will also be useful for dress materials.

After a long hiatus, the proposal to allot bicycles to students in PMC-run secondary schools was approved at the standing committee earlier this month.

The civic body had announced a scheme in early 2013 to provide free bicycles to students from standards VII to X. It had also made a provision of Rs 1 crore for it in the budget. But lack of response to tenders by the traders delayed the procurement.

Students can expect to get the cycles by March. However, students who receive these bicycles will not be able to avail of the free travel facility in PMPML buses. The distributor selected by the civic body will provide the cycles for Rs 3,520 each, with tyres, tubes and chains bearing the ISI mark. Further maintenance of the cycles will also be undertaken by the distributor.

"The civic administration has details of the average yearly demand for cycles and educational material. We can at least start 50% of the procurment before time so that we can start the distribution on time," said Vishal Tambe, chairman of the standing committee.

The urban community development department has also asked for an additional 556 cycles, taking the total up to 3,078. The total expense has now reached Rs 1.08 crore, but as the budget allocation is Rs 1 crore, only 2,840 cycles will be procured.