Civic officials water down water budget in Pune

The group leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Mukta Tilak, on Thursday said there was little utilisation of the budgetary provision for the water supply projects undertaken by the civic body. No project would be completed by the end of the financial year.

The BJP leader said it has come to light that only 37 of the 117 big water supply projects in the city are in the process of implementation. None would be completed by March end.

There is provision of Rs1,000 crore for water supply and sanitation in the civic budget for the financial year 2010-11, but work orders of only Rs158 crore have been issued by the civic officials till date, said Tilak.

Tilak said the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (Cong-NCP) alliance in the civic body had prepared the budget, which they could not get implemented. Strict action should be taken against guilty officers for the non-implementation of the budgetary allocation meant for the water supply.

She said the municipal commissioner, Mahesh Zagade,  does not have control over the implementation of the development projects for water supply. As the water supply department has been trifurcated, nobody has proper control over the department.

She said the water distribution and implementation of the water supply projects should be entrusted with two officials. At present, both the responsibilities have been given to the same person in the PMC.