Revival of Pune Municipal Corporation’s Kondhwa Laboratory After Four Years

Kondhwa, 5th January 2024: In a significant development, the state-of-the-art laboratory established by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) at Kondhwa, which has been dormant for the past four years, is poised to be revived. The administration has initiated steps to reopen the laboratory, and after four rounds of tender invitations, three organizations have expressed interest in resuming their operations.

The standing committee will play a pivotal role in selecting one of the organizations, raising hopes for the laboratory’s revival. The PMC had initially set up the laboratory in 2011 with a focus on testing various forms of food, packaged food, and water.

Despite an investment of approximately fifty-eight crore rupees in equipment, the laboratory had faced challenges. In 2013, the laboratory was handed over to an organization for a five-year term after a tendering process. The agreement outlined an annual benefit of around 50 lakh rupees for the PMC, but the actual income from 2013-14 to 2017-18 amounted to only Rs 12 Lakh 78 Thousand. The majority of this amount was spent on the salary of the junior staff responsible for the laboratory’s operations.

Due to the non-renewal of the contract with the institute, the laboratory was closed. Attempts were made to restart the laboratory in 2022, but the process faced hurdles due to non-payment of the required deposit. Despite three extensions of the tender, no organization applied.

Finally, after the fourth tender call, three organizations have shown interest. The documents and financial matters of these organizations are currently under scrutiny, and their proposals will be submitted to the Standing Committee for approval. Once approved, the laboratory will be operational, contributing to the quality assessment of food, edibles, oil, ghee, milk, water, and other products at discounted rates for citizens.

Veterinary Officer Dr Sarika Funde, stated, “Tenders were floated four times to start the laboratory in Kondhwa. For the fourth time, three institutions have submitted applications. After approval of one of these tenders, the work of this experimental school will commence, allowing citizens to check the quality of various products at discounted rates.”