A tussle over who will bear the cost incurred for laying underground power cables below roads readied before the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) is threatening to slow down infrastructure development work that had peaked last month under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) has locked horns with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) as well as the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on the matter.

Under the assumption that MSEDCL would incur the expenditure, the PMC and PCMC had carried out road development work in record time for the Games. They shifted electricity poles and and laid down underground cables on their own to avoid any delay. But the MSEDCL is refusing to foot the bill.

The issue cropped up on Sunday at a meeting of the Pune District Electricity Coordination Committee, where State Energy Minister Dilip Walse-Patil ruled out MSEDCL paying up.

Seconding his view at the council hall, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said, “MSEDCL cannot incur the cost of laying electric cables for work undertaken by the civic body. It is not possible for MSEDCL to pay PMC and PCMC because other local bodies will follow suit and the electricity company cannot afford such bills.”

The issue was raised by BJP legislator Girish Bapat who commended the work of laying underground cables in place of overhead wires keeping safety in view.

PMC Commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi said no funds were allotted for underground electricity cables in projects under JNNURM and the expenses were too high to be borne by the civic body. “The laying of cables is MSEDCL’s responsibility. They should at least share the expense with the civic body,” he said.

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