The Times of India 09.12.2009
PCMC to take Rs 200 cr loan from Hudco
PUNE: The standing committee of the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation (PCMC) on Tuesday approved the revised proposal to take a loan of Rs 200 crore from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco), instead of nationalised banks, to bridge the gap in funds for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) projects.
Municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma told reporters that the civic general body had approved a proposal to take Rs 200 crore from nationalised banks at 9.5 per cent interest rate. But Hudco has agreed to give the loan at 7 per cent interest rate. So a revised proposal was sent to the standing committee.
Sharma said, "The loan has to be repaid in 15 years. This is a credit line of Rs 200 crore. We will not take the entire amount at a time but take only as much as we require. We have to submit the loan proposal to Hudco on Wednesday."
The state government has sent a letter to all municipal corporations directing them to approach Hudco for loans, he added.
Explaining the gap in JNNURM funds, Sharma said, "The Union and state governments and the municipal corporation share the expenditure on projects approved under the JNNURM. Sometimes, there is a delay in receiving the funds from the Union and state governments. This creates a gap in funds and the PCMC has to spend money from its own funds to continue the work. This creates unnecessary burden on the civic body. We will use the loan for meeting the gap in funds."
During the meeting, NCP member Prashant Shitole raised the issue of lack of traffic policemen at junctions, standing committee chairman Dnyaneshwar Bhalerao said. "In the absence of policemen, people do not follow traffic rules and there is chaos, he said."
Bhalerao added: "Member Ramdas Kumbhar lamented that the administration was not taking action against unauthorised mobile towers. He pointed out that the PMC conducted a special drive against unauthorised mobile towers and collected a fine of Rs 5 crore."
According to Bhalerao, Kumbhar alleged that the PCMC was not approving small ward-level projects involving an expenditure of Rs 5 lakh, citing lack of money as reason. "The civic body could collect fine from unauthorised mobile operators and earn some money, he added. The officials replied that the administration was conducting the drive in zones A and C.".
Bhalerao said that members Jagdish Shetty, Sunny Ovhal and Rajesh Pillay asked why the PCMC was not giving salary cheques directly to the computer operators employed on contract basis in the octroi department. Bhalerao said that earlier two contractors had supplied 60 computer operators to the department. "Now, there is only one contractor with 45 employees. The contractor does not give the entire salary to the workers. So, the members demanded that the PCMC should directly pay the salaries to these workers."
The officials pointed out that the PCMC cannot give salary cheques directly to the workers as the workers will later demand that they be regularised as municipal employees. Sharma directed the octroi department to give work to only those contractors who pay salaries as per the contract they sign with the PCMC.
