Civic activist opposes appointment of contractor earlier flagged for poor work

Civic activist Vivek Velenkar has opposed the decision, alleging that the firm had earlier delivered poor-quality work

Despite the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) previously penalising a private firm and expressing dissatisfaction over its performance, the civic body has appointed the same company to carry out the city’s tree census.

Velankar has urged the PMC to review the appointment and take corrective action, and has written to the standing committee seeking intervention. (FILE)

Civic activist Vivek Velenkar has opposed the decision, alleging that the firm had earlier delivered poor-quality work while handling GIS-based property mapping and identification of unassessed properties for the PMC’s property tax department.

“The company’s work led to the cancellation of the 40% property tax concession for several citizens. Even today, many residents and the administration are occupied with correcting records through the PT-3 form process,” Velenkar said.

He added that a committee formed by the PMC to review the firm’s performance had flagged serious issues. “The committee found that nearly 88% of the work contained errors. The PMC had also imposed a penalty of ₹12 crore on the company,” he alleged.

Velenkar criticised the civic administration for awarding the same firm a ₹30-crore contract for the tree census during the administrator-led period, a decision that, he said, has continued even after the return of elected representatives to the civic body.

He has urged the PMC to review the appointment and take corrective action, and has written to the standing committee seeking intervention.

Standing committee chairman Shrinath Bhimale said, “We will seek information regarding the issue.”