‘Want to focus on development work of merged villages’

The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) recently bagged the ‘Best City in India’ award from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. Along with this title, the PCMC also received two other national awards under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for improvement in water supply and waste water sector; and the best city in effective enforcement of pro-poor policies.

Much of the planning and project implementation in the PCMC has been done by municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma over the last three-and-a-half years. Sharma has been striving to give Pimpri-Chinchwad the identity of a modern city and not just an industrial township. Following are the excerpts from an interview with DNA.

How was the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation chosen for the ‘Best City in India’ award?
The award was given by the government of India. The central authority itself assessed the cities. Pimpri-Chinchwad is one of the 65 cities selected under the JNNURM scheme. The award was given for best execution and best implementation of work under JNNURM. We had almost completed all the projects. It is mandatory for all cities under the JNNURM to execute approved projects and undertake reforms, and we are proud that we did it.

The award consists of Rs5 lakh, a memento and a citation.

The civic body has laid water supply networks and built sewage treatment plants for which it received the first prize in the ‘improvement in water supply and waste water sector’ category.
The civic body has installed water meters all over the city. The work towards equal water distribution, as well as reduction of water leakage through supervisory control and data acquisition system was also started. We set up water treatment plants using advanced technology, started online bill payment system and also set up centres for complaints regarding water supply. We also provided roads, water, drainage, solid waste management, education, health and medical services, besides other facilities.

How significant are these national awards for the PCMC?
We feel very proud to be holding the title of ‘Best City in India’. It will help boost the morale of the civic administration.
 
When you took charge, your focus was to complete big projects. Now that many of the mega projects are nearing completion, what is your plan for the twin township?
Now, my priority is to complete smaller projects. I want to concentrate on development work of all merged villages. Efforts will be taken to complete all development plan (DP) roads as early as possible.