The Times of India          31.10.2013

Municipal body to give Rs 33 crore to PMPML

PUNE: The financially-strapped PMPML will get Rs 33.29 crore from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for meeting the expenses it incurred for issuing free and concessional travel passes to students and citizens.

The beleaguered city transport body is monetarily dependent on the municipal corporations of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) released its share of Rs 22.5 crore in August. The PMC's contribution was pending as it sought to recover all previous loans given to the PMPML.

The transport undertaking gives free travel passes to over 50,000 students of primary and secondary schools besides senior citizens and other groups. The PMC and the PCMC had agreed to reimburse the expenses which runs into crores. The PMPML, however, struggles to recover the amount from the two corporations.

PMPML officials said the transport undertaking had spent over Rs 33.29 crore in the last financial year for the free and concessional travel passes issued to students, senior citizens, and other groups. Accordingly, the PMPML had asked the municipal corporation to disburse the amount. PMPML officials said the municipal corporation has agreed to pay the amount.

The PMC had earlier tabled a proposal before the general body which listed a series of conditions that the PMPML was required to meet before the amount could be disbursed. The conditions were so harsh that the PMPML could have never fulfilled them.

Of the many conditions, one was that the amount was to be disbursed from the current financial year's (2013-14) budget and it be regarded as disbursement for bus passes for the year 2013-14.

Various civic departments had examined the details of the PMPML's expenses on the pass schemes. The departments said that Rs 30 crore should be allocated and the powers to disburse should be given to the municipal commissioner. Another condition was that the PMC would first recover Rs 10 crore which was given to the PMPML before as a temporary loan. Also, all amounts given by various civic departments to the PMPML were to be recovered first.

The municipal corporation had earlier disbursed a loan to the transport undertaking through a fixed deposit of Rs 30.2 crore. The corporation also sought to recover the principal amount along with the interest. PMC's proposal said that PMPML should repay all its loans before March 2014, and also issue free travel passes to employees of PMC's municipal secretariat.