The Times of India 05.08.2010
PCMC panel to finalise contractor after a week
PUNE: The build-operate-transfer (BOT) committee of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will take another week to select a contractor for the City Centre project.
Pimpri-Chinchwad mayor Yogesh Behl said here on Tuesday, "We have deferred the decision by a week, although we have almost finalised the contractor. We are waiting to see whether the amount to be received from him can be increased to above Rs 200 crore."
Behl, municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma and civic officials attended the BOT committee meeting held on Tuesday.
Behl said, "There is a condition in the bid document that the contractor has to use 50 per cent of the total space for offices. We are thinking whether we should reduce it by 10 to 15 per cent and allow the contractor to use more area for commercial purposes, so that the highest bidder pays more than Rs 200 crore. CRISIL and others are part of the committee that is exploring this option."
He said the highest bid Rs 1,365/sq ft for a 33.5-acre plot received for the project was a good one in current situations.
Refuting allegations that the highest bid has been lower than the market price, Behl said, "It is not a free-hold plot. The PCMC is giving it on a 70-year lease and has imposed restrictions on the usage of the area. For example, 50 per cent of the area has to be used for offices and only 18 per cent of the area can be used for residential purposes."
He said that some corporators, like Azam Pansare, have said that the PCMC should allow the contractor to use the whole area as per his desire and concentrate only on getting maximum returns. "In such a situation, we will have to sell the plot in bits, like the Pimpri-Chinchwad New Township Development Authority, which is not exactly a civic body's job. Also, the contractor will then not develop the entire plot at one time and the PCMC's plan to create a city centre like Bandra-Kurla complex in Mumbai will not materialise." Sharma agreed that this would lead to haphazard development.
Opposition leader Rajendra Kate and group leader of Shiv Sena Sulabha Ubale have demanded that bids be re-invited, so that the PCMC gets more than the highest bid of Rs 200 crore. Sena corporator Shrirang Barne has sent a letter to chief minister Ashok Chavan urging him to stay the process and ask the municipal commissioner to reinvite bids.
PCMC plans to develop a City Centre on a 33.5-acre plot located near Autocluster in Chinchwad, along the Kalewadi phata-Dehu Alandi bus rapid transit route.
