The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has embarked on an ambitious public-private partnership project to provide wireless connectivity for the entire twin township.

While the initial plan was to make the 13-km stretch of the Pune-Mumbai highway passing through the township as a wi-fi zone, the municipal corporation changed the scope of work and has now decided to cover the entire area of 171 sq.km.

The target set for completion of the project is 2012, but the corporation hopes to start Internet services in phases from the current year itself. “There has been a good response from companies willing to provide such services… The period for submission of bids has been extended till next month,” Neelkanth Poman, in-charge of the computers department of the municipal corporation, told TOI.

And it’s not just wireless connectivity that the PCMC is looking at. The project is being visualized as a means to empower citizens where they can have abundant internet access, besides helping in strengthening the economy, building infrastructure for e-governance, e-education and e-health facilities, providing means for commercial transactions, having speedier disaster response and so on. The PCMC wants citizens to be able to choose from a range of service delivery modes, with preference to online, electronic, video and voice-based channels due to its convenience and functionality. It will also ensure that citizens with disability can access information and services, say civic officials.

Source: AsiaMedia