Corruption increasing in PCMC; need to clean city: Ajit Pawar repeats charge against BJP

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 13 (ANI): With the campaigning for the Maharashtra local body polls set to conclude on Tuesday, Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar has repeated the charge of being large scale corruption in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), decrying how one of the richest corporations is having so much graft, with the basic facilities not reaching the people.
Pawar, who is also the guardian minister of Pune district, said that the locals have been facing problems regarding the tanker mafia in their area, which does not allow them to get proper water facilities. Similarly, multiple children are also indulging in criminal activities, Pawar said, while pollution, clean roads, and clean water is not being worked on.
The different departments of PCMC have around Rs 4,000 crore worth of total bills pending, and multiple instances of inflated costs have been revealed, including a Rs 70 lakh road being made for Rs 7 crore, and software costs for the corporation being stretched to Rs 120 crore from the original cost of Rs 12 crore.
"Since elections have started, I have done press conferences on what all wrong things have happened. Pimpri-Chinchwad was such a rich corporation, but they still had to get bonds, there are around Rs 4,000 crore worth of bills pending of different departments, corruption is increasing. I have given those examples. A bridge worth only Rs 70 lakh was stretched till Rs 7 crore. They looked to fell trees, took Rs 7 crore there also but not one tree was cut. Rs 12 crore worth of softwares were there, it was stretched till Rs 120 crore," the NCP chief told ANI in an exclusive interview.
Talking about the problems faced by the people of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pawar said that people are looking for leaders who can deliver on clean roads, clean water, and reduce pollution. He said that the "tanker mafia" in the region has made life difficult, with people not getting proper water lines for themselves.
"Even in Pune, people don't have water, so many people in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad don't get water, there is a tanker mafia... But the work which needs to be done, clean water, making city cleaner, increasing pollution, decisions should be taken on those," he said.
On the law and order situation, the Deputy CM said that certain minor children also indulge in criminal activities. He however, affirmed that the Central and state government "are providing assistance with everything" and the locals themselves are not paying attention to the work being done.
"The minor children do different work, they fight, burn two wheelers, break windows of four wheelers," he said.
As guardian minister to Pune, the DCM said that he has provided proper infrastructure to the police, including vehicles, motorcycles, CCTV cameras and more, with work in the Police Commissioner's office also "progressing rapidly."
"As the Guardian Minister, every year, I have provided vehicles, whatever infrastructure the police department needs, worth several crores, including vehicles, motorcycles, walkie-talkies, CCTV cameras... We have approved new police stations and police outposts. Currently, the work on both the CP offices in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune is progressing rapidly," he said.
Now, with the population increase in Pune, the state government has also sanctioned more police staff in the area.
"We have resolved the problem regarding their residences. Now, the population here has increased, so there should be more police staff, and we have given the sanction for that. We have done our work. Both governments, Central and State, are providing assistance for everything, including national highways, ring road, but the local people there are not paying proper attention, that is what I want to say," he said.
Ajit Pawar, while being part of the Mahayuti alliance in the state government, has decided to breakaway from his BJP and Shiv Sena partners for the local body polls and contest by allying with Sharad Pawar's NCP, which he had broken away from a few years ago.
The polling for 29 municipal corporation elections across the state, including Mumbai, Pune, and Pimpri-Chinchwad, is scheduled for January 15. The vote counting will take place on January 16. (ANI)