State orders re-tendering of Pune Centre project

The state government has ordered the re-tendering of the controversial, City Centre project of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).

The PCMC had planned to construct the central business district (CBD) or City Centre on a plot of 35.5 acres in Chinchwad near the Auto Cluster, off the Pune-Mumbai Highway two years ago.

The project ran into trouble when the civic body had to invite tenders for a second time. On the second occasion, two companies  Pune-based Goel Ganga Group and Ramki Infrastructure Limited, Hyderabad   had jointly quoted the highest price for the project last year.

Opposition parties in the municipal corporation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena, had accused the PCMC of under valuing the project and had alleged that the rates quoted were substantially below the market rate. The parties had complained to the state government six months ago.

PCMC commissioner Ashish Sharma told mediapersons on Saturday that the state government’s town planning department had directed the civic body to order a re-tendering process.

State deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, had stated that the City Centre would change the face of the twin towns of
Pimpri-Chinchwad.