Unauthorised layouts, slums in Nagpur to be regularised in three months

* All the slums in city to be handed over to NIT
* NIT Chairman to co-ordinate with officers of various agencies to expedite different developmental projects in the district

By Kartik Lokhande 
The long-pending issues of 3,592 unauthorised layouts and 292 slums in the city may be resolved soon. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Surface Transport, chaired a meeting of officers of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT), and other agencies on Friday and asked them to complete the process for authorisation of the unauthorised layouts and regularisation of slums within three months.
Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Guardian Minister of Nagpur district; Ranjit Patil, Minister of State for Urban Development; Pravin Datke, Mayor; Shyam Wardhane, NIT Chairman; Shravan Hardikar, Municipal Commissioner; Abhishek Krishna, District Collector were present prominently in the important meeting held at NIT on Friday afternoon.
“The regularisation of unauthorised layouts will provide a big relief to over 2 lakh families, and pave way for provision of amenities like roads, power, water there,” Bawankule told reporters while addressing a press conference after the meeting. As per the details provided by officials during the meeting, a total of 1,95,027 individual applications were received for regularisation of plots in the unauthorised layouts in NMC area. NIT has issued demand letters for development charges in 1,09,438 cases. Of these, as many as 1,01,833 plot-holders paid development charges as per the demand.
As far as slums are concerned, Bawankule said that there were 292 slums in the city area. Some of these are with NMC, some with District Collector, and maximum with NIT. “As per the decision taken in the meeting held today, all these slums will be handed over to NIT for initiating the process of regularisation. We have asked the agencies concerned to work in co-ordination and complete the process for regularisation of slums and unauthorised layouts within three months,” said the Guardian Minister.
As per the decision, NIT will first develop the unauthorised layouts and then transfer those to NMC. Further, NIT had invited applications for regularisation of plots in unauthorised layouts under Maharashtra Gunthewari Development (Regulation, Upgradation, and Control) Act. In response, it received 1,94,965 applications. However, these pertained to Gunthewari developments existing as on January 1, 2001. Such developments after the said date cannot be regularised by planning authority (NIT). To enable NIT to regularise Gunthewari developments after 2001, amendments were needed to be effected to the said Act. “We will follow up the matter with the State Government in this regard,” Bawankule told reporters.
In the meeting, various other issues including completion of various developmental projects worth Rs 4,000 crore under National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), speeding up the work of proposed Metro Rail project, development of bus terminus, switching over to LED street-lights in the city, flower market etc also were discussed. To ensure timely completion of these work, NIT Chairman has been asked to co-ordinate with various agencies concerned, said the Guardian Minister. However, there is no formal committee as such, he added.
Asked if NIT will have to wait for getting into the role of Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) with these many responsibilities, Bawankule said that all the processes would be completed within three months. To a question, he said that Gadkari had never demanded scrapping of NIT.
“Under the leadership of Gadkari, all of BJP MLAs had assured to the voters in these unauthorised layouts and slums about regularisation. Besides, we had promised to put Nagpur on fast track of development. Today’s meeting was a step in this direction,” Bawankule said. Completion of process in three months will be another step, he added. Further, he said, he would be going to Delhi on February 2 to meet various ministers to expedite various developmental projects under different Central Government departments.
Talking to media, Pravin Datke said that NIT would be taking care of new projects including construction of a non-commercial Parking Plaza on the land of police quarters in Gandhibagh; construction of residential scheme for Low Income Group (LIG) and Middle Income Group (MIG) at Bharatwada. The police quarters to be shifted from Gandhibagh would be constructed afresh on 5 acres of land in Lakadganj.
MLAs Krishna Khopde, Vikas Kumbhare, Sudhakar Deshmukh, Dr Milind Mane, Sudhakar Kohale, NMC Standing Committee chief Narendra Borkar and others also were present at the press conference.

‘Bogus’ registry of lands
in district: Bawankule
Chandrashekhar Bawankule told the reporters that there were several cases of ‘bogus’ registry of lands in the district, especially in peri-urban area like Besa, Beltarodi etc. “There is no non-agricultural (NA) permission, Town Planning Department clearance, and still deals are getting registered. There is no clarity in law of registration. As a result, two persons posing as seller and purchaser of a land can register the deal for plot owned by another person. This needs to be curbed. For the purpose, amendments are required to be effected to the existing laws,” he said. He said that he himself, along with all MLAs from Nagpur district, would meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse and discuss the issue.

‘Have complaint about
corruption in NIT?
Submit it to my office’
On the issue of allegations of corruption in Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT), Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that he had not received any such complaint so far. “Still, through media, I shall appeal to the citizens to submit complaints, if any, at my office at Cottage No 5, Ravi Bhavan or approach Anti-Corruption Bureau for proper action,” he said. 

(31-01-15)