Pune: The cash-strapped Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) has sought Rs 105 crore in service charges from the Ministry of Defence to tide over its worsening financial crisis.The amount was sought as compensation for providing civic services to military areas spread across the cantonment limits, particularly in Ghorpadi and Wanowrie. The board received Rs 24 crore under the same head last year but is yet to receive an instalment for the current year.“We have sent our proposal to the ministry,” Vidyadhar Pawar, PCB chief executive officer, told TOI.Service charges have been an important revenue stream for the cantonment board, with officials describing the payment as similar to property tax collected by municipal bodies against civic amenities.The funds help the board meet the cost of maintaining areas under its jurisdiction, including those occupied by the armed forces. A senior board official said the release of the amount was crucial to restoring essential services and preventing further deterioration of civic infrastructure.“It has been one of the major components of our revenue, which already remained in a bad condition. If we received this amount, we would be able to improve our basic services to civil as well as military areas,” the official said.The financial strain has increasingly affected routine civic operations. The board has been struggling to ensure essential maintenance and regular garbage collection, maintain roads and gardens, undertake minor road infrastructure works and replace ageing drainage lines.Officials said the board has largely been dependent on grants-in-aid from the Ministry of Defence, released in instalments during a given year. These funds provided temporary relief. The absence of a sustained revenue stream, however, left the body vulnerable to delays in central assistance, they said.The board’s monthly expenditure was around Rs 10 crore, including salaries and pensions of its employees. With its finances under stress, officials feared that a delay in the release of funds could once again disrupt salary payments.“If we did not get this amount, we would struggle to pay the salaries of our employees in the next two months. We have already gone through such a situation in the recent past,” an official said.The timely release of service charges was expected to provide some relief, although officials indicated that a long-term solution would require a more predictable funding mechanism to meet recurring expenditure and infrastructure needs.“The proposals to convert the land status of some properties were still pending with the Directorate General Defence Estates. If we got approval, the board would be able to get steady revenue in the future,” said the officials.
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