PCMC chugs along

A meeting of officials of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and defence and urban development departments will be held in New Delhi on June 30 to discuss the transfer of defence land to the civic body for developmental projects.Pimpri-Chinchwad mayor Aparna Doke said that she had also discussed the matter with Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar during their meeting .A PCMC engineering department official said that the civic body required 53 hectares of defence land for 27 projects, including road construction projects. Eighteen proposals have been prepared seeking 35 hectares of defence land for constructing or widening roads. The major road projects include widening of a 1.4 km stretch of the old Pune-Mumbai highway stretch from Phugewadi to Harris bridge, Dapodi; widening of a 3.8 km stretch of the Aundh-Ravet road and constructing roads joining Pimpale Gurav, Pimpale Saudagar, Pimpale Nilakh and Sangvi.
Meanwhile, Doke has also sought Pawar’s help in the Pavana river development project. The PCMC had prepared a detailed project report (DPR) after conducting a thorough study and an engineering survey of the Pavana river and its banks.The survey had revealed widespread water pollution, encroachments and slums on the banks, heavy growth of vegetation that has led to a mosquito menace and silt accumulation that leads to flooding of many areas within municipal limits. The PCMC had earlier submitted the DPR of the project to the JNNURM authorities through the state government and the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA). After the JNNURM authorities raised certain queries, the civic body resubmitted a revised proposal of Rs 339 crore and is currently awaiting its approval.
The PCMC plans to generate electricity by setting up a power plant of 5 MW capacity at the Moshi garbage depot.The garbage depot at Moshi caters to a population of around 12 lakh. Around 500 tonnes of garbage is generated daily in the Pimpri-Chinchwad township, which is dumped here. A private operator would set up the plant and the corporation would only provide the garbage needed to generate the electricity.