Pune Municipal Corporation spends Rs 221 crore on roads since 2013; No relief for locals as potholes resurface

Pune: For Pune locals, the threat of driving on roads dotted with potholes and difficulties that develop during and after the rainy season seem to be an endless loop.

Numerous locals have been protesting over the occasionally fatal accidents caused by these potholed roads this year as well, but no solution is in sight. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) spent Rs 221.09 crore on road repairs, patching potholes, and resurfacing the roads that were dug up for installing cables and pipelines between 2013–14 and 2021–22, according to figures obtained from the road department of the PMC.

Although it appears that an acceptable amount of money was spent on the project overall, residents claim that the money was wasted since potholes still litter the roads, some of which are the size of craters and pose a major threat to commuters' safety.

Statistics show that 64.81% of the corpus that PMC had set aside for road maintenance in its yearly budget—a total of Rs 341.09 crore—was actually utilised. The 2016–17 fiscal year had the biggest allocation of money, totaling Rs 73 crore. The civic organisation also spent the most money—Rs 49.85 crore—on rehabilitating roads.

Of this, Rs 38.71 crore was used to repair the roads that had to be dug up to make room for gas, electricity, and other cables as well as water and drainage pipes. The local government spent Rs 61.76 crore for road rehabilitation in the two years of the Covid epidemic, 2020–21 and 2021–22.

suggested by the citizens believe that the quality of the road construction, not the amount of money PMC spent, is what really matters.

The PMC commissioner, on the other hand, lamented the fact that despite the civic body's financial constraints brought on by other obligations, they continue to make the most of the situation.