The Times of India   14.09.2010

Controversy over PCMC's plantation drive

 PUNE: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's proposal to spend Rs 91.82 lakh on planting 40,000 saplings on the Bhandara hill near the temple town of Dehu has generated a controversy in the twin township.

The controversy is on two counts. The first being whether the PCMC should spend such a large amount of money on a project outside the municipal limits. The second is related to the proposal being tabled before the standing committee, when the civic general body (GB), which is supreme over all other civic committees, has already approved it.

At last month's GB meeting, the civic administration had at a short notice tabled the proposal and it was subsequently approved. The same day, the PCMC invited bids for the work. But even after receiving the GB's approval, the civic administration has again sent the same proposal for approval to the standing committee, to be discussed in its weekly meeting on Tuesday.

Speaking to TOI, Suresh Salunke, chief of the garden department, PCMC, defended the move. "We had sought the GB's approval since the project is to be implemented outside the PCMC limits. The civic administration has completed the tender process and has now sought the standing committee's approval to allot the contract to the successful bidder."

He said, "The land on Bhandara hill belongs to the forest department and the Dehu devasthan. They had requested the PCMC to plant saplings on the open land. The contractor will plant the saplings mainly indigenous species by end of October, and will tend to them for the next two years."

However, a section of corporators have objected to this expenditure. Speaking to TOI, Ashok Sonavane, group leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party corporators, said, "Ward-level works such as tarring roads, laying paving blocks, repairing footpaths and other works are not being implemented, since the PCMC is facing a financial crunch. Therefore, it is improper for the civic body to undertake such an expensive project outside of the municipal limits." The PCMC will have to divert money from other civic projects to finance the plantation drive, he said.

"The PCMC had suddenly tabled the proposal and got it approved from the GB. Now, it is seeking the standing committee's approval. Is the GB supreme or the standing committee? The civic administration should not set a wrong precedent and the municipal commissioner should reconsider the proposal," Sonavane added.