NAVI MUMBAI: A much-delayed memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) was inked and exchanged in the presence of chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for the levy of service charges and transfer of infrastructure facilities in the Panvel civic body jurisdiction.
The PCMC came into being on October 1, 2016. After handing over the rights of various nodes, PCMC will now collect taxes in areas developed by Cidco and also maintain civic facilities. The water supply mechanism will remain with Cidco though.
This will end the ambiguity of double taxation due to the presence of both government agencies in the area. Shinde said, “This will provide citizens access to high-quality civic amenities with ease. Cidco has developed self-sufficient nodes in the PCMC area with an emphasis on all amenities, services and facilities. With this, PCMC will be responsible for providing these facilities smoothly and uninterruptedly.”
Fadnavis said the transfer of services from Cidco to PCMC will contribute to the financial viability of the civic body and help in charting out smooth future planning for the betterment of citizens.
Cidco developed New Panvel, Kalundre, Taloja, Kalamboli, Navade, Kamothe and Kharghar nodes with infrastructure facilities. The process of transfer of these nodes and their infrastructure facilities to the civic body is now complete. Cidco MD Sanjay Mukherjee said, “Cidco being a town planning authority has always prioritised the development of better infrastructure in the cities, accordingly these facilities have been transferred to PCMC.”
“We are happy the transfer process is done after our continuous followup of the issue,” said PCMC commissioner and administrator Ganesh Deshmukh. “Now, PCMC can’t blame Cidco for lapses in providing necessary civic amenities,” said activist Mangal Kamble.
