PCMC, MNGL & co-operatives dept meet societies’ representatives to promote PNG use, discuss other issues

Pune: Officials of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited (MNGL) and the state co-operatives department on Wednesday held a meeting with representatives of housing societies and residents’ federations from across city areas to promote the use of piped natural gas (PNG) and reduce dependence on liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders.The meeting was chaired by PCMC commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi. During the discussion, residents raised concerns over delays in obtaining MNGL connections and sought faster implementation of PNG infrastructure in both gasified and non-gasified areas.Federation members also highlighted civic issues, including irregular water supply, taxes imposed on amenity spaces and delays in installation of Organic Waste Converter (OWC) machines in housing projects.The civic chief approved the formation of a joint coordination group comprising representatives from PCMC, MNGL and housing society federations to address pending issues and improve coordination between stakeholders.Pimpri Chinchwad Cooperative Housing Societies Federation president Sachin Londhe, who attended the meeting, said their federation has agreed to support the initiative, but stressed that PCMC must expedite pending PNG installations and address long-pending property tax rebate issues.Londhe said he has also proposed that the civic body make piped gas systems a mandatory amenity in the blueprint approval process for upcoming real estate projects.Sanjeevan Sangale, president of the Chikhali-Moshi-Pimpri Chinchwad Housing Societies Federation, said their federation has strongly demanded action against builders who violate undertakings submitted to the civic body regarding water supply.“We demanded that builders should continue providing water supply as promised in their undertakings. We also sought action against builders who failed to install OWC machines in housing societies and against officials who issued completion certificates to such projects. We further demanded that the tax imposed on housing societies from the current financial year should be withdrawn,” Sangale said.Londhe added that Suryawanshi agreed to examine issues related to statutory incentives and property tax benefits for housing societies adopting green initiatives.“Over the past few years, many societies have spent lakhs of rupees on green projects such as solid waste management plants, solar power systems, sewage treatment plants and EV charging stations based on PCMC’s promotional campaigns. Despite these self-funded civic initiatives, societies have not received any property tax relief,” Londhe said.According to Londhe, Suryawanshi acknowledged the concerns and directed federations to submit an audited list of societies that have implemented such green initiatives. He assured that the administration would review the documents and examine pending property tax rebate cases.