Pimpri Chinchwad, 9th April 2026: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has initiated a formal inquiry into the clearance of bills for development works worth Rs 52 crore within a short span at the end of March, following allegations of procedural lapses raised by standing committee chairman Abhishek Barne.
Municipal commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi, in an order issued on Thursday, stated that a large volume of payments was processed between March 24 and March 31, 2026, by increasing or reducing the budgetary provisions. He said preliminary findings indicate possible violations of norms related to budgetary control, financial discipline and approvals mandated under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949, necessitating a detailed and impartial probe.
The civic body has constituted a five-member committee to examine the matter. The panel will be headed by additional municipal commissioner Vijay Khorate and submit a report within seven days. Officials said retrospective audit will also be conducted to check if similar practices were followed during the same period over the past three financial years.
The issue came to the fore on Wednesday after Abhishek Barne alleged that payments related to various works were cleared in haste without following prescribed procedures and claimed that even senior officials under whose departments the work fall were unaware of the clearances.
Chief accounts officer Pravin Jain in a statement stated that the payments were processed on March 30 after receiving supplementary suggestions post the March 24 general body meeting, with intervening public holidays delaying the process.
The panel will also examine the transfer of the civic bodyтАЩs funds between bank accounts, including whether due process was followed in seeking interest rate quotations from nationalised banks and if any financial loss was incurred due to non-competitive rates.
On the issue of shifting bank accounts, Jain said in the statement that the civic body had longstanding arrangements with Bank of Baroda, and after the agreement expired in July 2024, Bank of Maharashtra was selected through due process for a three-year term with necessary approvals.
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