Rush to beat poll code: PMC pushes to float tenders before local body election announcement

Hindustan Times

5 hours ago

With the state government beginning groundwork for holding long-pending local body elections, following the Supreme Court's directives, the Pune district administration is moving quickly to finalise tenders and initiate development works ahead of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) coming into effect.
Pune district collector Jitendra Dudi recently chaired a meeting with officials from the Pune Zilla Parishad and district administration, instructing them to expedite all pre-sanctioned development works under the District Planning and Development Committee (DPDC).
'The elections for local self-governments are scheduled. All departments must complete administrative and financial approvals and start the works before July 31. Once the model code is enforced, new works will be restricted,' Dudi said during the meeting.
Under the MCC guidelines issued by the Election Commission, no new development tenders can be floated once the code is in force, except for essential maintenance and repair work—subject to prior approval. This has prompted all departments to prioritise finalising estimates, technical approvals, and tender documents within the limited window available.
According to senior district officials, departments are working on a war footing to float tenders for various infrastructure projects ranging from rural roads and water supply to school building repairs and anganwadi upgrades. In many talukas, contractors have been informally told to be prepared to begin ground work immediately once orders are issued.
The upcoming polls include elections to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), Pune Zilla Parishad, and various Panchayat Samitis and municipal councils in the district. These elections have been delayed since 2022 due to legal issues over OBC reservation and ward delimitation.
The Election Commission of India is expected to declare the local body election schedule only after September 4, 2025, once the final ward boundaries and updated electoral rolls are notified. However, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, during an event in Pimpri Chinchwad on Friday, indicated that the civic polls are likely to be held 'immediately after the monsoon and before Diwali.'
PMC officials confirmed they are also working to finalise estimates and float tenders for projects under its capital budget.
'Instructions have been issued to all department heads to complete technical sanctioning and issue work orders wherever possible before the code of conduct. Projects that miss this window will be stalled for months,' a senior civic official said.
Over ₹1,200 crore worth of works under the Pune Zilla Parishad and district annual plans are currently pending at various stages, and the administration is racing to ensure that maximum approvals are cleared before the code kicks in—expected sometime in late August or early September.
Local political leaders have also started exerting pressure to push pending projects through before the poll code, as many hope to showcase completed or ongoing development works in their constituencies ahead of the elections.