Pune: In absence of municipal elections for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for the past two and a half years, the city has been functioning under the administration of civic officials.
However, with administrative officers and employees failing to resolve civic issues, Members of Parliament have had to intervene directly.
Following the expiration of the PMC corporators term in March 2022, no subsequent elections have taken place, leaving the city's problems to escalate without the intermediary role of corporators.
This has led to issues like water shortages, clogged drains, uncollected garbage, non-functional streetlights, inadequate facilities in municipal hospitals, and unaddressed complaints about illegal constructions.
Citizens have been turning to former corporators, but these ex-representatives have not been receiving the necessary cooperation from the administration.
Even direct complaints to officials by citizens have often gone unresolved. This has prompted MPs such as Supriya Sule and Dr. Amol Kolhe to step in and address the situation by holding independent review meetings.
Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol and MP Supriya Sule have conducted separate meetings to discuss city issues. BJP's former corporators presented a list of problems from their areas to Municipal Commissioner Dr. Rajendra Bhosale, who has been instructed to address these issues promptly.
Dr. Amol Kolhe held a "Janata Darbar" (public court) in Hadapsar and Wanawadi-Ramtekdi, part of his Shirur constituency, to address water supply, roads, garbage, and drainage issues. Following citizen complaints, Kolhe held a meeting with the Commissioner and other officials to seek resolutions.
Dr. Kolhe stated, "Without corporators, citizens' problems remain unsolved. A Janata Darbar was organized for civic issues in Hadapsar and Wanawadi. Today, a meeting with officials was held at the municipal corporation to address these problems."
