PMC quotes top Central rates, says citizens’ group

Pune: Sajag Nagrik Manch, a citizens’ group, has approached municipal commissioner Kunal Kumar with a study that reportedly shows that the civic administration had quoted higher prices for various items in the schedule of rates (DSR) than the prices quoted in the Union government’s portal (GEMGOV). The organsiation said a revision of rates would help the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) avoid unnecessary expenditures.
Vivek Velankar, the chief of Sajag Nagrik Manch, said a letter has been submitted to Kumar urging him to look in to the issue. “We conducted a study of the DSR of electrical items that the PMC procures. Many items were quoted at prices much higer than the government’s recommendations. For instance, the price of CCTV camera recorders, as quoted by the PMC’s DSR, ranges between Rs 11,000 and Rs 41,000. However, the prices quoted for similar products on GEMGOV range between Rs 3,861 and Rs 33,150. Similar difference can be seen for many other items. We have attached a list along with the letter to municipal commissioner,” he said.

The citizen’s group wants the municipal chief to constitute a committee that will study the DSRs of every department and compare the prices quoted. The committee can also recommend changes in PMC’s DSR.

Velankar said the PMC quoting higher prices to procure items was not a new thing. He said his organization has been following the issue of higher prices in the DSR with civic administration for past many months. Recently, PMC initiated steps to buy CCTV cameras at higher rates. It is waste of taxpayers’ money. The administration needs to take corrective measures, he said.