02 February,2010 01:03 PM IST | | Vivek Sabnis
Cash-strapped civic body spends Rs 10 lakh of taxpayer's money on clearing poles that are power distribution company's responsibility
The cash-strapped PMC has spend Rs 72 crore in the last seven years on removing hazardous electrical poles in the city, which is the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited's (MSEDCL) responsibility.
However, the MSEDCL has refused to allow the PMC to recover the spending through a hike in power bills.
Road widening
The PMC shifts poles in order to facilitate road widening and also because they pose a danger, as they can't be seen during the night.
Such poles have been responsible for a number of accidents in Varje, Aundh, Hadapsar and Nagar in the last 10 years. So far, the PMC has shifted about 4,000 electric poles in city and more than 8,000 are yet to
be removed.
"We removed the poles because it is our duty to ensure safety of our citizens and smooth flow of traffic in the city. It is sad that the MSEDCL is not interested in the safety of Puneites. We have not received a single paisa from them so far and their approach has consistently been uncooperative," said Shrinivas Kandal, executive engineer, electrical department, PMC.
S P Nagtilak, chief engineer, MSEDCL, Pune, refused to explain why his company would not clear or shift the poles when the PMC undertook public works like road widening. "There is no agreement between the PMC and MSEDCL on recovering money spend on shifting poles," Nagtilak said.
