State yet to clear Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal of Rs 10 crore

Despite repeated letters from PMPML, the state’s home department has yet to pay up the outstanding amount

Personals from the traffic as well as the city police department avail the facility of free travel in the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) buses.

Personals from the traffic as well as the city police department avail the facility of free travel in the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) buses (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

To support this free travel, the State government gives a fixed reimbursement every year to the PMPML. However, despite repeated letters from the PMPML, the home department of the State government for the last three years has not paid a single penny to the PMPML as a reimbursement for this free travel.

Nayana Gunde, PMPML chairperson said, “Currently, the home department is yet to give a total of Rs 10 crore to the PMPML as the reimbursement we get to support the free travel for the city police department. Two months earlier I had sent a letter to the home department seeking the release of these funds.” She added, “We have received a positive response to our letter from the home department as they have assured to release the total amount of Rs 10 crore in the first week of March.” However,Gunde refused to give a year-wise break-up of the reimbursement.

A senior PMPML official on the condition of anonymity said, “Government offices delaying the release of funds for another government operated agency especially in such cases is a common phenomenon across the state. It is not only with the PMPML, but there are many such government offices in the city that have large pending dues from the state government, including the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).”