The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will start 15 projects under the Smart Cities Mission in next three months.
"The special purpose vehicle (SPV) on April 18 decided to start the ground work. The project has been selected based on demand and priority, which followed a public consultation process," said PMC commissioner Kunal Kumar at a press conference. The PMC has laid emphasis on transport, water, road and solar systems.
Mayor Prashant Jagtap said the civic body will focus on transport. "Besides starting new projects, the existing ones like BRT will be efficiently run." Jagtap said the new plans will not burden the PMC staff nor will it impact the pace of existing works.
The office space for Smart Cities Mission has not been marked yet. The administration is looking for a place near the PMC main building, but corporators want the office to be located inside the building.
Meanwhile, deputy mayor Mukari Algude called a press conference and demanded that the deputy mayor should be included in the director's board. "The post of deputy mayor is important. It must get a representation in the SPV," he said.
The SPV, which has the responsibility of executing projects under the Smart Cities Mission, was registered in March. Named Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited, it has seven stakeholders. Of them, six include the mayor, standing committee chairman, leader of the House, leader of opposition, PMC commissioner and additional commissioner. The divisional commissioner would be the seventh stakeholder- as a state representative.
The company has 15 directors. Among them, six are from PMC, including the mayor, standing committee chairman, leader of the House and leader of opposition. They will select two more elected representatives, representing the parties.
The Union government has released its initial share of Rs 194 crore. The PMC and the state government are now expected to raise funds for actual implementation. The PMC wants to give thrust to involving private investors.
