Pune: Contractor booked for missing machine

Shifting a food waste disposing machine owned by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) without permission proved dear for a contractor against whom civic chief Shrikar Pardeshi has initiated strict action.

Pardeshi has asked civic officials to lodge a police complaint against the contractor and also ordered them to impose a fine of Rs100 per day since the machine was shut down by the contractor 18 months ago.

The two machines will now be installed at the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital at Pimpri.

Shiv Sena coporator from Bhosari, Seema Savale, had exposed the food waste disposing machine scam recently.

The executive engineer, Sanjay Kulkarni, said the  machine which was installed in former mayor Yogesh Behl’s ward was found at Wakad. The contractor had shifted the machine without informing civic authorities and he has admitted his mistake.

The PCMC had installed two machines costing Rs20 lakh in the wards of its former mayors Yogesh Behl and Mangala Kadam to compost wet garbage at big housing societies 18 months ago. But one of the two machines had ‘disappeared’ and the other one is lying unutilised.

The machines were installed on an experimental basis as part of the new waste management system, which the civic body wants to implement in big housing societies. The PCMC worked out a plan to tackle the garbage segregation and disposing issue in the twin town by promoting disposal of wet garbage generated by big housing societies.

Savale wrote a letter to Pardeshi and demanded strong action against the contractor for using municipal property carelessly.

However, the machine supposed to be in Vallabhnagar was found at Wind Word Housing Society, Kasptevasti, Wakad and the second machine was found in a state of disrepair at Sambhajinagar.