The Times of India             13.02.2014

PCMC area to get theme park for kids

PUNE: Pimpri Chinchwad will get a Balnagari, a children's theme park, and a planetarium, in addition to the existing Science Park. The projects were announced in the draft budget 2014-15, which was presented by Pimpri Chinchwad municipal commissioner Rajeev Jadhav on Wednesday. The budget has a total outlay of Rs 3,400 crore, including JNNURM projects costing Rs 1,294 crore.

The corporation has also proposed two new flyovers and grade separators at KSB junction in Pimpri and at Sangvi Phata, besides starting work on the 5 km Nigdi-Kiwale BRT route.

Jadhav, who took over as municipal commissioner just two days back, expressed concern over the deficit in the local body tax income in the present financial year as compared to the octroi income in 2012-13. The civic body will emphasize on increasing civic income and has already directed all the heads of departments to widen the tax net. There is no proposal to hike taxes this year.

The administrative expenditure of the PCMC, he said, is 25 per cent of the total expenditure. In major corporations, it is around 10 to 15 per cent of the total expenditure. Civic officials have been directed to reduce the administrative expenditure. Funds will be sought from the state for running government schemes.

He said kiosks assisting people to access online services will be set up in slums and fringe areas to extend the reach of e-governance facilities. The civic body will also implement e-literacy project, he added. "Sarathi and other initiatives undertaken by the former commissioner will be continued. We will try to add more points in his 10-point programme," he said.

The draft budget presented by the civic administration to the standing committee will not be deemed as final. "We will treat this draft budget as a flowing budget, which can be changed later to add new ideas and projects," Jadhav said.