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Pimpri-Chinchwad: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will create seven state-of-the-art labs to provide education and knowledge of astronomy in PCMC schools, officials announced on Monday. This is the first phase of the initiative, which will include more advanced labs in the future. Seven PCMC schools have been chosen. Around Rs 36 lakh will be spent per lab, so the total expected cost of the first phase is around Rs 2.50 crore.
According to PCMC officials, PCMC has 105 primary and 18 secondary schools. In all these schools, 54,418 students are currently studying -- a huge number of students in civic schools compared to other cities. Astronomy is a subject that rarely gets the much-needed attention in Indian schools. However, the idea for the project was first conceived by the late BJP MLA Laxman Jagtap that PCMC schools should be providing knowledge beyond our planet.
“A fund of Rs 3 crore is available for this. The Deputy Secretary of the Pune District Collector's Office has given administrative approval for an expenditure of Rs 2.50 crore for the proposed work,” noted a PCMC official.
The official further stated, “The tender for developing the state-of-the-art science laboratories in the PCMC schools was published on the MahaTender system on 13th July 2025. Three contractors participated in the tender process. The lowest bid of Rs 35,71,300 per laboratory from an organisation in Pune for developing the laboratory has been accepted. The total cost for the seven schools is Rs 2,49,99,100. These laboratories will be developed in seven out of the eleven municipal schools in the Chinchwad Assembly constituency.”
Recently, PCMC Commissioner and Administrator Shravan Hardikar gave approval for this project in the Standing Committee meeting, and the work is expected to start soon. PCMC officials explained that they plan to have these laboratories before the start of the next educational year.
