In an unprecedented move, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has issued show-cause notices to eight officials, including two ward officers, after inspections revealed serious shortcomings in pre-monsoon preparedness works across the city.The action follows a series of inspections that found several pre-monsoon works incomplete despite repeated deadlines and directives from the civic administration. (HT)With the monsoon expected to intensify in the coming days, the civic administration has cracked down on delays and incomplete works related to stormwater drains, nullah desilting and flood-mitigation measures.Traditionally, disciplinary action for lapses in pre-monsoon works has been limited to engineers and field staff. However, PMC has extended accountability to ward-level administrators, making ward officers directly answerable for deficiencies in their respective jurisdictions.The action follows a series of inspections that found several pre-monsoon works incomplete despite repeated deadlines and directives from the civic administration. Civic officials said the notices seek explanations for the slow pace of work and failure to ensure timely completion of critical monsoon preparedness measures.The move comes as PMC has extended the deadline for completing pre-monsoon works from May 31 to June 15 amid concerns over the city’s preparedness for heavy rainfall and recurring waterlogging in vulnerable areas.Additional municipal commissioner Prajit Nair issued the show-cause notices on Wednesday following a surprise inspection of stormwater drains and nullahs in the Vishrambaugwada and Kasba Peth ward offices under Zone 5.During the inspection, Nair found stormwater drainage works at several locations had not been carried out satisfactorily. At Nilayam Talkies, a chronic waterlogging spot in the Vishrambaugwada ward, stormwater pipelines were found clogged with garbage and debris despite records showing maintenance work had been undertaken nearly five months ago.In Kasba Peth, near Sonawane Hospital, officials found encroachments inside a nullah along with accumulated waste, discarded wooden furniture and glass debris. Evidence of garbage burning inside the drain was also observed.“With barely 10 days left before the onset of the monsoon, the condition of pre-monsoon preparedness at the inspected sites is highly unsatisfactory. The negligence observed in the execution and monitoring of these works is a serious matter and accountability must be fixed,” Nair stated in the notices.“The administration will not tolerate laxity in critical monsoon preparedness works. Necessary action will be taken against officials found responsible for the lapses,” a senior PMC official said.The officials served notices include Vishrambaugwada ward officer Pradeep Awhad, deputy engineer Sudhir Alurkar and junior engineer Nikhil Sable. From the Kasba Peth ward office, notices were issued to ward officer Thimayya Jangale, deputy engineer Prashant Kadam, junior engineer Indrajeet Deshmukh, senior health inspector Rahul Rajgolkar and health inspector Shivaji Gaikwad.