Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation


Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation is the civic body that governs Pimpri Chinchwad, the proudly extended city limits of Pune, India. It was established on 11 October 1982 to govern the newly industrialized towns of Chinchwad, Akurdi, Pimpri & Bhosari. The same day Pimpri Chinchwad split apart from the Haveli taluka to become the 15th and newest Taluka of Pune district. It governs an area of 181 km2 with a population of 1.72 million. The executive power of the PCMC is vested in the Municipal Commissioner, an Indian Administrative Service officer appointed by the Government of Maharashtra. The position is held by Shravan Hardikar since April 2017. The general body of the PCMC consists of 128 directly elected councilors, popularly known as "corporators", headed by a mayor. Rahul Jadhav was elected as the mayor and Sachin Chinchwade as the deputy mayor in August 2018. The PCMC headquarters are situated on the Old Pune Mumbai Highway in the heart of Pune City.

History

The industrialization in what is today the city of Pimpri & Chinchwad began in 1954 with the establishment of Hindustan Antibiotics, the first pharmaceutical company of the Government of India. On 4 March 1970, Annasaheb Magar laid the foundation stone of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Council, which brought the industrial and residential areas of Pimpri, Chinchwad, Akurdi and Bhosari under a unified civic body. In 1975, the status of the Municipal Council was changed from C to A class. On 11 October 1982, the civic body was reorganized to form the modern municipal corporation with the merger of seven surrounding villages of Sangvi, Rahatani, Thergaon, Pimple Gurav, Pimple Nilakh, Pimple Saudagar as well as parts of Wakad. The newly formed PCMC had an area of 86 km2 under its jurisdiction, which increased drastically in September 1997 after 18 fringe villages were merged into the city. Today the city has an area of 181 km2.

Administration

The major responsibility of PCMC is to look after the civic and infrastructural needs of the citizens. The administration consists of two major branches: the executive branch headed by the Municipal Commissioner and the deliberative branch headed by the Mayor. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Police is the law enforcement agency for the city along with its twin Pune and answers to the Ministry of Home Affairs of the GoM. It is headed by a Police Commissioner, an Indian Police Service officer. A separate police commissionerate was announced for Pimpri-Chinchwad in April 2018 to be carved out of Pune Police.

Executive Branch

The executive branch is headed by the Municipal Commissioner appointed by the State government from the Indian Administrative Service for a term not exceeding three years according to Section 36 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949. The Municipal Commissioner also serves on the boards of directors of the two public transport companies, PMPML and MahaMetro.

Administrative Zones

The city is divided into eight administrative zones. Each zone consists of 4 electoral wards and has an office overseen by an Assistant Municipal Commissioner.

Deliberative Branch

The deliberative branch is the elected branch of the PCMC headed by the Mayor. The city is divided into 32 electoral wards, represented by 4 corporators each. Thus, the general body of the PCMC consists of 128 corporators. They are elected for a five year term by adult franchise in municipal elections. All major political parties active in the state contest the elections.
The corporators elect the Mayor, a ceremonial position with limited duties who acts as an ambassador and representative of the city, as well as a Deputy Mayor. The corporators approve the city budget and act as watchdogs on implementation of policy by the staff under the Municipal Commissioner.

Committees

The corporators form several committees which deliberate on various issues. At present, PCMC has the following subject committees: Law, Women and Child welfare, City improvement, Biodiversity and a committee for Sports, Art, Literature and Culture. The Standing Committee is the perhaps the most important committee of the PCMC formed according to Section 20 of Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949. It consists of 16 members headed by a President appointed at the first meeting of the newly elected Corporation, half of whom retire every succeeding year. A new President is also appointed every year. Besides the subject committees and the Standing Committee, there are eight ward committees representing each of the eight administrative zones of the city.
TitleIncumbentSinceAppointed/Elected
Municipal CommissionerShravan HardikarApril 2017Appointed by the GoM
Commissioner of PoliceR K PadmanabhanAugust 2018Appointed by the GoM
MayorRahul Jadhav August 2018Elected
Deputy MayorSachin Chinchwade August 2018Elected
Leader of the HouseShatrughan Kate April 2018Elected
President of the Standing CommitteeMamata Gaikwad March 2018Elected

Municipal Elections

Elections 2017

The 2017 municipal elections were held on 21 February. For the first time in the history of PCMC, BJP emerged with an absolute majority with 77 seats. The newly elected general body elected Nitin Kalje as the mayor and Shailaja More in March 2017. Kalje and More resigned on 24 July 2018 citing personal reasons. The resignations came as a part of BJP's 15-month mayorship policy to allow leadership positions to other corporators. On 4 August 2018, Rahul Jadhav and Sachin Chinchwade of the BJP were respectively elected as the mayor and deputy mayor.