Pune Municipal Corporation yet to finalise estimated cost for 24×7 water supply project

Pune Municipal Corporation

THREE MONTHS after scrapping tenders for its ambitious 24×7 water supply project, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is working cautiously towards finalising the estimated cost of the project. But a meeting on the issue has been postponed twice.

The meeting was scheduled to be held on Wednesday but was cancelled, as officials said they were still finalising the quotations.
As of now, the Water Supply Department of the PMC, in its draft proposal to lay the 1,700-km network of pipeline, install metres and upgrade the water treatment plants, has estimated that the project will cost Rs 2,615 crore.

The civic body has also appointed a team of officers from various technical branches to scrutinise the proposal.
A civic official said, "We are not taking any chances this time and scrutinising every aspect carefully to avoid any controversies. Suggestions are being made in the proposal to ensure the project's efficiency without escalating its cost."

There are chances that the cost of the project will be reduced, as unnecessary expenses have been removed from the draft proposal, he added. He said the consultant engaged in the implementation of the project has been asked to keep the terms and conditions of the bidders competitive to ensure maximum response to the tenders.

Another official added, "The civic administration wants to keep the entire tender process transparent as per the directions of the state government." Meanwhile, concerns over the implementation of the project have been raised in view of the inclusion of 11 new villages within PMC limits.

The official added, "The 24×7 water supply project has been planned keeping in mind the requirements of the city till 2037. Thus, the need of new areas included in PMC limits and the ones proposed to be merged into the civic jurisdiction should also be included in the project. Without that, the project would not yield the desired result."

A civic official said it didn't seem like the needs of the newly-included villages were taken into account while preparing the draft proposal. "It is the right time to make a provision for extending the project to include the new villages. This might increase the project cost but would help achieve the goals of the project," he added.

On August 3, the PMC administration had scrapped the earlier tender process, which had estimated the cost of the project at Rs 2,818 crore, citing the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The bidders had quoted 25 per cent more than the estimated cost, which had triggered a controversy.

The PMC had decided to raise funds for the project through municipal bonds, which included supply, installation, commissioning and operation cost, of the project.

On June 20, the PMC raised Rs 200 crore through municipal bonds at 7.59 per cent rate at the Bombay Stock Exchange and became the first municipal body to do so in recent years. The civic body had also planned to raise a total of Rs 2,264 crore in five years through the bonds. However, due to the delay in the tender process, the PMC made a fixed deposit of the Rs 200 crore.