This was the outstanding amount from last year for monthly bus passes of civic body's employees; PMC and PCMC still owe the transport body Rs 154 crore
Despite having over 50 per cent stakes in five-year-old Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML), the Pune Municipal Corporation is reluctant to pay dues amounting to Rs 32 crore from last year to the public transport company. In the PMPML director board meet, on Wednesday, the civic body officials principally agreed to pay the amount after proper checking of the calculations.
No joyride: The controversial issue of purchasing 1,000 buses from Ashok Leyland was postponed in the PMPML director’s meeting.u00a0File Pic
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“Both the PMC and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) are hesitant to pay their long pending dues of bus passes of their respective employees. The amount is a total of Rs 154 crore. The public bus service is presently running in losses amounting to Rs 60 crore,” pointed out Prashant Jagtap, one of the directors of the PMPML committee and former deputy mayor of PMC.
“The result of the last meeting was that PMC should pay at least Rs 32 crore from last year which can be done without any hassles,” he added.
The four-hour-long meeting at the PMPML headquarters at Swargate Depot, was attended by the mayors, commissioners and standing committee chairmen of PMC and PCMC.
Earlier, R N Joshi, chairman and managing director of PMPML Director Board had personally opened the topic of getting Rs 32 crore in the standing committee meeting held at PMC on Tuesday.
Vishal Tambe, chairman, standing committee, PMC, said, “We are checking the number of employees using PMPML bus passes and also the amount quoted by PMPML. There is no harm in paying the amount, but before the payment we want to make our own calculation of the amount of the dues.”
Tambe, however, did not make any clarification on the long pending dues of Rs 154 crore to PMPML.
Purchase delayed
The controversial issue of purchasing 1,000 buses from Ashok Leyland was postponed in the PMPML director’s meeting. The payment for these buses was to be made by paying Rs 12.50 per km per bus and the company wanted advertisement rights before the full payment. The total expenditure is calculated as Rs 958 crore which is much higher than the actual cost of the buses. Many citizens including PMPML Pravasi Manch have opposed the purchase. u00a0“We are tapping for another bus company and its offer for same number of buses for PMPML,” said Deepaksingh Pardeshi, PMPML PRO. “This will give us some option and the purchase of the buses with the present market rates will be done by floating tenders.
Some decisions taken at the meet
>> To fine 11 bus suppliers over delayed deliveries
>>u00a0Provide employment on the merit of humanitarian background to the kins of retired employees as per the directives in PMC and PCMC
>>u00a0Scrap the proposal of charging Rs 57 lakh as tax amount by erecting bus stops in PMC limits
>>u00a0Making agreement with Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) on 1.25 acres of land at Hinjewadi for 99 years. MIDC had asked Rs 58.15 lakh for the concord.
>>u00a0As per the promise by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, both PMC and PCMC should make provision of 2 per cent of the budget for allocation of funds to PMPMLu00a0
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