Pune: Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) is unable to proceed on its planned 42-km cable-laying network across the city, as Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has levied Rs6,000 per running metre road digging charges, said the power utility’s superintendent engineer Dnyandeo Padalkar.Another MSEDCL officials said that the fee levied by the PMC was exorbitant and hampering its infrastructure improvement plan. There are cable-laying plans of around 2-3km at 21 places under the District Planning and Development Committee, 8.5km line near Parvati and 7km line near Bund Garden under Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme and 14.5km under Special Assistance Scheme. MSEDCL is also planning to set up two substations — in Nagar Road and Mohammadwadi areas. A substation usually requires 20km of cables to be laid. There are other proposals including setting up of 57 new connections for which close to 8.5km road needs to be dug up, three new substations for which cables of 20km need to be laid in each of them and regular cable maintenance work of around 2km.
