India, Nov. 5 -- With banks reluctant to finance land acquisition and those willing to lend quoting higher interest rates, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is considering borrowing Rs.450 crore from Cosmos Cooperative Bank against a Rs.500-crore fixed deposit with the same bank to fund land acquisition for its high capacity mass transit route (HCMTR) project, said municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram on Wednesday.

Ram said the proposed arrangement would allow the civic body to earn over 7% interest on its deposit while borrowing at an estimated 7.5% to 7.7%. However, the loan interest rate is yet to be finalised.

"Banks do not easily provide loans for land acquisition. Very few banks offer such loans, and that too at high interest r...