PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Standing Committee has given approval to provide Aundh octroi post land to Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) for parking and carrying out maintenance work.

The approval was given at the Standing Committee meeting held on Tuesday. The PMC-owned octroi post land in Aundh has been lying vacant since the State government abolished octroi. Therefore it was decided to hand the land over to the PMPML.

The PMPML has a fleet of 1,450 buses operating out of different depots in the city. The recent induction of new e-buses and mini-buses in the fleet have increased the burden on the PMPML and they do not have enough space to park their vehicles or carry out maintenance work. Many buses are parked on the roadside. Therefore, PMPML has asked for the Aundh octroi post land to use for parking buses and carrying out their maintenance. 

Standing Committee Chairman Hemant Rasane said, “Aundh octroi post land is 7,203 sq m and has been given to PMPML on a monthly rental of Rs 5.76 lakh for the next five years.”

The civic administration has asked for Rs 36 lakh to the PMPML as advance rent for the next six months. But PMPML does not have funds to pay that amount, so they have asked the civic administration to adjust the rent amount of Rs 36 lakh against the subsidy given to PMPML to operate their buses.