Project for uninterrupted electricity in Aundh, Baner, Balewadi falls through after cost escalates by Rs 120 crore
Residents of Aundh, Baner and Balewadi, who were looking forward to uninterrupted power supply under the smart city project, are to be disappointed as the plan has fallen through due to increased cost and lack of funds.
The Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited (PSDCL) had announced the smart grid plan for these three areas that have been designated for the implementation of smart city pilot projects. While the initial cost of the smart grid plan was Rs 380 crore, it has now gone up to Rs 500 crore – an amount neither the state government nor the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSDCL) seems interested in paying.
As per the project outline, areas within Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits would not have any official load shedding schedule and electricity would be off only during maintenance (which would be announced beforehand) or due to some catastrophic failure. PMC would provide 24x7 uninterrupted power to all residents with 100 per cent smart metering and grids, along with billing and collection efficiency. Once the project was successfully implemented in Baner, Aundh and Balewadi, it was to become pan-city.
But, as of now, it appears to be little more than a pipe dream. Said Rajendra Jagtap, chief executive officer of PSCDCL, said, “The cost of the project was Rs 380 crore two years ago, of which the central government decided to hand out a grant of around Rs 80 crore. Now, the cost has gone up to Rs 500 crore and so far, we have not received any response from MSEDCL or the state to compensate the cost of this escalation.”
He added, “PSDCL has no source of income or compensation so far. So, we have decided to introduce a new project related to power supply that will be discussed at the upcoming meeting of the board of directors.”
However, a senior official from MSEDCL, who did not wish to be named, said, “PSDCL has a consistently negative approach and is not cooperating with us for our projects. There are several plans stuck due to lack of coordination for our infrastructure project. It is anyway difficult to implement a smart grid project. We’re already working on laying underground cables and increase sub-stations for interrupted water supply. Therefore, it is tough for us to take any interest in the smart grid project.”
As officials continue to pass the buck, residents are getting increasingly irate with power cuts. Girish Deshpande, member of the Aundh Vikas Manch, said, “The smart city project seems to be in name only. I don’t think it takes rocket science to implement this facility. They should not give up simply due to lack of funds. It is part of our basic infrastructure and we are fed up with having to deal with power failure every week.”
Apart from the smart grid, the pilot projects include redesigning of streets and footpaths redesigning junctions, rainwater harvesting, facilities for low-income skill development and health care, implementation of LED lighting and solar rooftops and e-governance intelligent operation centres.
---
Autor(en)/Author(s): Siddharth Gadkari
Quelle/Source: Pune Mirror, 13.09.2017
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
