top of page

By:

Rajendra Pandharpure

15 April 2025 at 2:25:54 pm

The engineer nobody touched

An inquiry into Pune’s civic works lifts the veil on a sprawling nexus and a familiar political silence Pune: The Supreme Court’s directive to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to investigate the assets of a retired City Engineer from the Pune Municipal Corporation has sent shockwaves through the city. For the residents of Pune, the inner workings of the Construction Department and the illicit gains amassed by some of its shrewd officials are nothing new; however, this investigation has thrust...

The engineer nobody touched

An inquiry into Pune’s civic works lifts the veil on a sprawling nexus and a familiar political silence Pune: The Supreme Court’s directive to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to investigate the assets of a retired City Engineer from the Pune Municipal Corporation has sent shockwaves through the city. For the residents of Pune, the inner workings of the Construction Department and the illicit gains amassed by some of its shrewd officials are nothing new; however, this investigation has thrust the department and the corruption within it into the public spotlight. Illicit Wealth Social activist Tanaji Gambhire has alleged that the retired City Engineer, Prashant Waghmare, has amassed wealth amounting to a staggering Rs. 2,000 crore. When the municipal administration repeatedly failed to act despite numerous complaints regarding Waghmare’s alleged corruption, Gambhire finally knocked on the doors of the judiciary. The Supreme Court admitted Gambhire’s complaint and issued orders to investigate Waghmare’s disproportionate assets. Waghmare served as the City Engineer at the Pune Municipal Corporation from 2003 to 2026. This marks the first instance in which the assets of the Municipal Corporation’s City Engineer are being subjected to a formal investigation. Social activists will be closely watching to see just how seriously the State Government pursues this inquiry. The reason for this scrutiny lies in the fact that Prashant Waghmare reportedly maintains "friendly" ties with "all" political leaders across the spectrum. Not a single corporator has ever forcefully exposed or scrutinized his conduct during the Municipal Corporation's general body meetings. Such was his clout that it was commonly whispered within municipal circles: “If Waghmare is involved, anything is possible,” and “No one can touch Waghmare.” Despite the Supreme Court delivering a decisive verdict regarding this Rs. 2,000 crore scandal, political leaders have maintained a conspicuous silence - a fact that has left social activists astonished. Familiar Saga For the city’s residents, the Municipal Corporation’s Construction Department and the irregularities plaguing it, is a familiar saga. The traffic crisis in Pune has reached a critical stage, and the corruption within the Construction Department of the Municipal Corporation is largely to blame. In the construction of most buildings, insufficient space is allocated for parking. Furthermore, builders often fail to make adequate arrangements for drinking water supply. Flat buyers are frequently left bewildered by revised building plans. Customers purchase flats under the mistaken assumption that the mere fact that a building has been erected implies its legality. Consequently, the city's traffic infrastructure collapses. Municipal officials convey their 'messages' to builders through architects; the cost of these illicit transactions is ultimately passed on to the customer. This practice has persisted for years. It is, however, equally true that not all architects are involved in these corrupt dealings. Pune is a major metropolis. Over the past two decades, the construction sector has boomed. The industry generates a turnover running into crores of rupees annually; the beneficiaries of this massive financial activity are not limited solely to officials within the municipal administration. Rather, a vast network comprising of certain police officers, revenue department officials, and criminal gangs is deeply entrenched in this system. There is open discussion throughout Pune regarding how certain officials within the Construction Department have acquired properties in the names of their wives or sisters. Builders frequently make donations to public institutions, thereby cementing their influence and position within the city. Historically, rampant corruption plagued the Octroi Department within municipal corporations. With the abolition of the Octroi tax, the construction sector emerged as the new fertile ground for illicit gains. Some time ago, a controversy erupted regarding the construction of a building for a certain organization; even religious leaders joined the ensuing protests. During that episode, the name of a prominent political leader surfaced, sparking rumours of a nexus between the builder and the politician in question. Currently, the names of various political leaders are being linked to several ongoing construction projects across the city. For instance, a post office located in the city center was relocated to make way for a new construction project; the builder involved now openly boasts with evident pride that he enlisted the assistance of a Union Minister to facilitate the shifting of that post office. Residents of Pune hope that, at the very least following this incident, there will be an improvement in the functioning of the Construction Department and the Anti-Encroachment Department. Many homebuyers find themselves stuck in various construction schemes; there are complaints that while some have already paid for their flats, they have yet to receive possession of the respective units. The State Government must look into these grievances and take steps to resolve them. With high-rise buildings springing up across the city, due consideration must also be given to infrastructure, specifically roads, water supply and drainage systems while granting permissions for such structures. The Pune Municipal Corporation was once served by a City Engineer who famously declared, “As the City Engineer, my foremost priority is to ensure that the aesthetic beauty of the city remains uncompromised.” It would be fitting to at least honour and remember his vision.

Indian Shipbuilding A Must Win Marathon

Shipbuilding

With a coastline of 7500 KM, it is hard to imagine, that for the first 20 years (1947-1967) India had no ‘shipping ministry’. In 1967 a Shipping ministry “coupled” with ROAD transport was established. Since then, this ministry has been on a name changing ride, not once, not twice but six times. In 2009 the “ROAD Transport and Highways” was de-coupled and ‘Shipping’ ministry was formed. Turning point came in 2015 with a clear maritime vision for 2030 and 2047. Ministry was re-christened, aptly to Ministry of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” in 2020.


Why is Shipbuilding important for a country?

a. A Shipyard becomes an opportunity hub and like a queen bee requires the support of an industrial colony to manufacture machinery and equipment.

b. National Shipyards support fleet renewal needs of the Navy.

c. Contributes to national GDP, increases inflow of FOREX.


Korea shipbuilding is 8% of GDP. Japan’s automobile industry is 2.9% of GDP. India’s shipbuilding a meagre 0.000578% of GDP. In context, India’s pharmaceutical industry, ranked third largest in the world is 1.72% of India’s GDP.


International Shipbuilding Market

The market is estimated to reach around USD 200 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.84%. While India is at bottom with 0.07% of world share, behind Philippines 1.5% and Vietnam 1%, however on the positive side, India has done well in taking care of its defence needs, with 37 of 39 Naval ships being built in India yards. Rear Admiral S Shrikhande researching on maritime as a Fellow at Wollongong University, Australia, says “Shipbuilding in India needs both, serious incentivisation and dogged determination and not harping on being a big ship breaking country. That Garden Reach shipyard has a $54 million order for merchant ships from a German owner, is a good sign.”


Were Shipyards of 20th century in Flight mode?

Prominent shipyards in India were built in the colonial period. Mazagon Dock 1774, Garden reach 1884, Hindustan shipyard 1941 to cater to British navy and merchant fleet needs. Cochin shipyard 1972, Adani Katupalli 2013, Reliance Naval and Engineering, Rajula Gujarat 1997 and others have limited capacity, hence a lot more work to do. Capt. Subhangshu Dutt (Singapore) a mariner and now a shipowner, says “GOI should hold hands in any collaboration till the marriage with the foreign entity is reasonably stable. He also suggests that “new shipbuilding sites should be given to existing successful shipyards since they have decades of experience and talent. Consortium of 3 or more parties may also be good idea”.


Shipbuilding GOLD

As per SPLASH report the demand for LCO2 carriers could reach 2,500 ships by 2050. As per other estimates, 40% of global fleet of ships could have wind propulsion by 2050. A surge in such vessels is due to an unparallel waves of decarbonization in the shipping industry. Demand for ships with ‘carbon neutral’ badges, such as Dual fuel, Wind assisted, Nuclear fuel ships, Hydrogen powered ships, Liquified CO2 (LCO2) carrier, is outstripping supply. A must in the ‘bucket list’ of every Shipyard. Pinning down a standard ROI in shipbuilding is not easy, but experts suggest it could range from 4% to 15% for the high demand ‘carbon neutral’ ships. While an LNG new build vessel could cost US$ 250 million upwards.


International collaboration

On China’s shipbuilding success story, Manoj Pandalanghat (Singapore) a mariner and ship owner believes that “China has around 50 active Shipyards. Each have a few large dry docks. In each dock two or more large vessels are built simultaneously. Thus, a single yard is able to roll out 2/3 vessels/month, 36 vessels/year and 50 shipyards roll out 1800 vessels/year”.


China could be a jaldi-5, but India needs a sturdy Mount Fiji. Besides technology, Japanese bring the most important hand baggage of soft-skills and culture, essential for success from keel laying to delivery. Maruti’s is a standing example.


Food for thought for New Delhi

a. Expertise: Hire Naval Architects and shipbuilding experts with current international experience.

b. Government assistance: Land, Financial support, subsidies and timebound clearances.

c. Monitoring: PMO should monitor the first 5 to 10 years till Shipbuilding takes-off on this long-haul flight to destination 2047.


India’s Shipbuilding is expected to grow to $237 billion by year 2047. On a back of the envelope calculations this works out to about 4% of India’s 2047 projected GDP of $ 5 trillion. While cars are driven on roads, however the Ministry of roads and transport has little to do with “Automobile manufacturing”. On a similar note, ‘Shipbuilding’ as an industry has little to do with Ports, Shipping and Waterways, thus it may be worthwhile to consider a separate ‘Ship-building’ wing in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways headed by a dynamic cabinet rank minister. Since 2047 targets are stiff and an uphill task, so in all probabilities, the officials in Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways are likely to push beneath the carpet, delays and failures of Shipbuilding with sweet success stories of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” and if this does happen then India will not only miss the Shipbuilding bus of 21st century but a lot more from a national security and strategic perspective.


(The author is a Shipping and Marine consultant. Member Singapore Shipping Association and empaneled with IMO as a specialist consultant. Views personal.)

Comments

bottom of page