Pune Municipal Corporation and the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited could be facing an annual additional burden of nearly ₹15 crore on diesel procurement, according to a proposal submitted before the civic standing committee. The proposal alleges that the two public institutions are being charged substantially more than the prevailing market rate for fuel.
The proposal, attributed to Congress group leader Chandrakant Kadam, calls for verification of the prices paid to Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for fuel purchased for PMC and PMPML vehicles. It also seeks intervention at the municipal commissioner’s level so that the two institutions can obtain diesel and petrol at market-linked rates.
The central price claim has not been independently verified in the supplied report. According to the proposal, diesel available in the market at around ₹99 per litre is being purchased by the municipal corporation at ₹159 per litre. The proposal further attributes the difference to an alleged order issued by the district collector. The report does not provide a copy of that order or documentary details explaining the applicable pricing arrangement.
PMC uses fuel for vehicles operated by its motor vehicle department and other civic departments, including garbage collection vehicles, fire engines, excavators, loaders, generators and other machinery. PMPML also requires diesel for buses and other vehicles operating from its depots. Any sustained difference between market prices and institutional procurement rates would therefore affect both civic operations and public transport costs, although the actual financial impact remains subject to verification of the rates, volumes and applicable rules.
The proposal states that PMC’s motor vehicle department purchases about 8,000 litres of diesel a day for 26 days each month, amounting to approximately 208,000 litres a month. Using an assumed price difference of ₹59 per litre, it calculates an additional monthly cost of ₹1.2272 crore and an annual burden of about ₹14.73 crore.
These calculations are presented in the proposal and have not been independently checked against purchase invoices, HPCL billing records, tender documents, fuel registers or municipal expenditure data. The supplied report also does not establish whether the stated market rate and institutional rate refer to the same product category, tax treatment, delivery arrangement, procurement volume or contractual terms.
The proposal asks the civic administration to examine the legal and administrative provisions under which commercial or private-sector fuel pricing and classification may have been applied to PMC and PMPML. It argues that PMC is a local self-government institution and PMPML provides public transport services, rather than operating as a private or multinational company.
The proposal also alleges that the fuel cost has made it difficult for PMC to use its own machinery, leading it to rely on rented machinery in some cases. Kadam has stated that the Congress party would consider approaching the court over the issue. No court proceedings or judicial order are identified in the supplied material.
The immediate institutional steps sought are verification of the fuel rates and the alleged order, an examination of the procurement rules, and representations to the state government through the municipal commissioner. Confirmation of these records will be necessary to establish whether the claimed ₹15 crore annual burden reflects an actual procurement differential and whether PMC or PMPML is legally eligible for a different pricing arrangement.
