Pune: Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) awaits cable operators to submit documents for permissions over three months after it began the process to regulate overhead wires.A senior PCMC official said only one operator approached them with documents seeking permission, despite repeated appeals and warnings.The civic body estimated that more than 400 cable operators, including providers of internet service and optical fibres and broadband companies, were active in the city. However, none were registered due to the absence of a dedicated civic policy till now.In May, PCMC had given 30 days to operators to submit their operational details after it began drafting a standard operating procedure (SOP), of which it had none, to regulate overhead cables.A senior official said, “We have prepared a draft SOP, which is expected to be approved by the municipal commissioner next week.”Officials said the civic administration had sought inputs from operators before finalising the policy, but no one came forward. “The sector appears to be largely unorganised and there is no single association we can approach. We had appealed that operators submit their inputs, but there has been no response,” the official said.The move gained urgency after a woman from Nigdi died after becoming entangled in a hanging overhead cable while riding a two-wheeler earlier this year. She fell from the vehicle and suffered a fatal head injury. Subsequently, corporators raised the issue in the general body meeting, following which the civic body decided to regulate the cable network.PCMC plans to finalise the policy shortly and take action against operators who fail to submit the required documents or comply with the new regulations.However, officials said enforcement faced legal limitations as telecom cables were considered essential infrastructure under the Telecommunications Act and could not be removed indiscriminately.
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