PCMC misses March 31 Smart City handover deadline; state orders dismantling of SPVs

Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has missed its March 31 deadline to transfer Smart City Mission assets and projects to the civic body.This delay comes as the state govt moves to officially wind down the special purpose vehicles (SPVs) that have managed the scheme since its inception.On Feb 11, then municipal commissioner Shravan Hardikar formed a three-member committee to ensure all ongoing and completed smart city projects were transferred to PCMC by the end of March. However, more than three weeks past the deadline, the handover remains incomplete.Amidst the delay, the state govt issued a govt resolution (GR) on Wednesday directing that the chairpersons and directors of Smart City SPVs be relieved of their duties. Their powers have been transferred to the respective municipal commissioners. The roles of Smart City chief executive officers (CEOs) will now be assumed by either the municipal commissioner or the concerned additional commissioner.The Smart City Mission was originally implemented through SPVs—entities jointly owned by urban local bodies (ULBs) and state govts. These SPVs were responsible for the entire project lifecycle, from planning and funds release to monitoring and evaluation.The state's new resolution also mandates that all contractual officers and employees under these SPVs be relieved, with their responsibilities shifted to permanent municipal staffers. A compliance report on these changes must be submitted to the state by April 30. According to a senior PCMC official, five contractual employees in Pimpri Chinchwad will be affected by this order.In Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, divisional commissioner Chandrakant Pundlikwar has been authorised to head the SPVs, while the municipal commissioners of both cities have been assigned the powers of directors. This state-wide restructuring affects major urban centers, including Nashik, Nagpur, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Solapur, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.PCMC officials attributed the missed deadline to administrative transitions and political shifts. They noted that the handover process, initiated by the previous commissioner, slowed down following his transfer as officials awaited fresh directives from the new administration. The recent municipal elections and the subsequent formation of a new civic body also contributed to the lag."The process was slightly delayed due to the transfer of the initiating officer and the election period," a senior official said. "We also faced confusion regarding the appointment of elected representatives as directors even as instructions were being issued to cease operations."Despite the dissolution of the SPVs, officials insist that work will not grind to a halt. The handover process has resumed and is expected to be finalised within the next 10 days."We are in close contact with contractors handling incomplete projects to ensure continuity," an official stated. Once the transfer is complete, each project will be managed by its respective parent department within the municipal corporation for future maintenance.Pimpri Chinchwad was selected for the Smart City Mission in 2017, launching projects worth over Rs1,300 crore. Key initiatives include the Smart City Surveillance project, which features a city-wide CCTV network linked to an integrated command and control centre. The central government has set a hard deadline of December 2025 to complete all mission projects, clarifying that no further funds will be released beyond that point.
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