68 years of Pune Municipal Corporation: Civic history with a legacy of game-changing schemes
In the pre-independence era, the Pune Municipal Council had implemented an underground drainage system after taking a loan. Something similar is taking place today with the PMC having raised ₹200 crore through municipal bonds for the implementation of the 24x7 water supply scheme.
Entering its 68th anniversary on February 15, the history of the Pune Municipal Corporation can be traced back to 1857 when it was first established as a Municipal Council.
The civic body’s centenary was celebrated in 1960 when a souvenir was published chronicling the many development works undertaken by raising loans.
The celebrated civil engineer Sir M M Visvesvaraya, who had been honoured with a Bharat Ratna, and the great freedom fighter Gopal Krishna Gokhale, were among the stalwarts who actively participated in the Municipal Council. Visvesvaraya played an important role in designing Pune’s water supply from Khadakwasla dam.
While the Peshwa era ended in the 1818, there was no organised structure for Pune city’s planning for almost three decades until the Pune Municipal Council came into existence in 1857.
In the pre-independence era, the Pune Municipal Council had implemented an underground drainage system after taking a loan. Something similar is taking place today with the PMC having raised ₹200 crore through municipal bonds for the implementation of the 24x7 water supply scheme. The civic body is planning to raise almost ₹1,700 to ₹1,800 crore through bonds for the same purpose.