Agarwaltimes - Pune City to get faster internet speed, 12 more bridges

PMC BUDGET, 2015

Uncertainty over income clouds decision to push earlier estimate by Rs 482 cr

Speed seems to be the middle name of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) this year. A day before the Union budget, the standing committee (SC) tabled a Rs 4,479.50 crore-budget for the 2015-16 fiscal at the general body (GB) meeting, inflating PMC commissioner's realistic budget of Rs 3,997 crore by Rs 482 crore; this, despite the uncertainty over revenue generation.

Apart from allocating funds to flyovers and under-passes to make movement on the ground faster, the SC also decided to set aside Rs 50 lakh for high-speed internet service via Wi-Max.

"The city has become an information technology (IT) hub, with maximum companies working round the clock," said committee chairman Bapu Karne and added, "For their faster connectivity, we have decided to introduce Wi-Max wireless broadband technology in the city."

BRIDGING THE GAP

Nearly Rs 30 crore has been set aside for 12 bridges, including flyovers, under-passes, railway overbridges and river bridges, which are to be created for swift movement of traffic.

"The city is expanding and population is also increasing. So, we have decided to alternate routes. It will help ease traffic in the future," Karne pointed out.

However, this decision did not go down well with Sujit Patwardhan, the founder member and trustee of Parisar, a non-governmental organisation, working for the traffic sector.

"Flyovers are not a solution. However, our corporators are obviously using the easiest way out of the traffic problem. It is not a sensible decision."

BITING OFF MORE?

The announced budget is an inflated one, despite the uncertainty over revenue generation. However, Karne is unperturbed. "We have announced two amnesty schemes for property tax and water tax. Besides that, we have an expected Rs 1,495 crore from Local Body Tax (LBT) and Rs 1,155 crore from property tax. Adding to that, we also have cut down on some administrative expenditure, helping us increase the budget. If the state government abolishes LBT, it will help us get funds from the government, based on our estimated revenue," he explained.

CLEARING GARBAGE

The solid waste management department has been allocated Rs 379.48 crore to solve the city's garbage problem by installing small processing units, which alone have been given Rs 50 crore. The SC has also announced Rs 1,000 per month as remuneration to ragpickers working in slum areas for better segregation of wet and dry garbage.

Keeping in mind the 150th birth anniversary of Gopal Krishna Gokhale in May, the committee has announced an award for the Best Parliamentarian, consisting of Rs 1 lakh in 2015-16. The Best Parliamentarian will be chosen by the PMC and the Gokhale Institute of Politics, Economics and Science.

Agarwaltimes