Pune gets nod for Rs 1000 cr Japan loan

The Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) proposal to raise a Rs 1,000 crore soft loan from Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) has been accepted in principle by the central government.The fund will be used to carry out various civic projects.

"These funds would be utlised to reduce pollution and stop environmental deterioration. We also plan to increase and upgrade our sewage handling capacity," said Nitin Karir, municipal commissioner,Pune.

At present, PMC treats around 307 million litre sewage every day.

It plans to increase the capacity by another 150 million litre per day to ensure that untreated sewage is not dumped in Mula and Muta rivers.

To reduce congestion on roads the corporation plans to construct an elevated road and platform along the Muta river and also plans to strengthen public transport system.

"This would bring pollution levels down as citizens would start using public transport instead of their vehicle," Karir pointed.

"We also plan to develop river fronts which would include creating water bodies in the river bed and development of parks, cycle and jogging tracks along the river banks," he added.

"We will use the hill ranges that run through the city and connect various arterial roads to reduce congestion on main roads. Three tunnels would be constructed. The tunnel connecting Senapati Bapat road and Paud Road would bring down congestion on Law College Road and Karve Road," he said.

PMC would also plant trees on the hills to protect the bio-diversity of the area.

"The central government has cleared our proposal but they have asked for some clarifications.The clarifications have been forwarded and we are expecting a reply soon," said Karir.

It would take another year for the corporation to receive the money from JBIC. "But we plan to go ahead with the projects such as creating additional sewage treatment capacity without waiting for the money," said Karir.

FUTURE PERFECT

The fund will be used for various civic projects

The projects include pollution control, upgrade of sewage disposal, decongestion of main roads, river front development

The central govt has cleared the proposal but asked for some clarification

The corporation has decided to go ahead with some projects without waiting for the funds