Ajit Pawar has asked PMC to lower road-digging fees for electricity projects, aligning with PCMC’s affordable model.
High charges by PMC are delaying schemes like RDSS, PM Suryaghar, and Solar Agriculture Feeder.
₹683 crore worth of power projects, including substations and 3,000 km of underground cables, are being fast-tracked in Pune and surrounding areas.
Pune, 1st September 2025: Deputy Chief Minister and Pune Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar has directed the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to reduce its steep road-digging charges, which he said are slowing down crucial electricity projects in the city.
At a District Electricity Monitoring Committee meeting held at Circuit House on Saturday, Pawar compared PMC’s fees with those of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). He noted that while PCMC charges only ₹100 per meter as a supervision fee, PMC demands ₹6,600 per meter.
According to Pawar, this sharp difference is pushing up costs and delaying works under schemes such as the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), the Prime Minister’s Suryaghar Yojana, and the Chief Minister’s Solar Agriculture Feeder Scheme.
He directed PMC to adopt PCMC’s fee structure, under which Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) takes responsibility for road restoration, ensuring that infrastructure work moves quickly without burdening project costs.
The meeting also reviewed electricity projects worth ₹178 crore for Pune city and ₹505 crore for rural areas. Plans include building new substations, upgrading existing ones, and laying over 3,000 kilometers of underground cables. Pawar asked MSEDCL to speed up the Suryaghar scheme, which has already provided free solar power to over 20,000 households with a total installed capacity of 94 MW.
He also told officials of Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company (Maha Transco) to start work immediately on approved extra-high-voltage substations and complete them on time.