Pune: In a significant departure from its existing policies, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has approved the aerial installation of 500 kilometers of fiber optic cables as part of its Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC) project. This decision comes despite an established ban on overhead cable installations in the city.

₹250 Crore Smart City Project Gets Special Clearance

The Central Government has sanctioned ₹250 crore for Pune’s disaster management and smart city initiatives. Under this funding, PMC will set up an Integrated Command and Control Center at its headquarters, aimed at digitally connecting:

• Municipal offices

• Hospitals

• Ward offices

• Schools

• Theaters

• Other civic buildings

To execute this project, PMC has assigned the work to MahaPreit, a state-backed organization.

Legal and Infrastructure Challenges

Laying 500 kilometers of underground fiber optic cables—the preferred and legally approved method—would take approximately 3.5 years. Given the urgency of the project, PMC has granted an exemption to install the cables above ground.

Ironically, PMC regularly takes action against unauthorized aerial cables in the city, but in this case, itself has approved an overhead installation for its own project.

Officials have confirmed that under MahaPreit’s supervision, yellow-colored fiber optic cables have already been installed in the following areas:

• Kharadi

• Hadapsar

• Viman Nagar

• Kalyani Nagar

• Koregaon Park

• Mundhwa

This special approval has raised questions about policy consistency and whether similar exemptions will be extended to private service providers in the future.