Kartik Lokhande's blog

* However, in Nagpur Division, stamp duty collection registers a dip on account of high prices resulting in realty market slump, increased target to department * Nagpur Rural and Gadchiroli exceed the given targets at the end of October itself By Kartik Lokhande  After exceeding target for two consecutive years, stamp duty collection in Nagpur Division has dipped at the end of October this financial year. According to officials, the collection is almost 10 per cent lesser than expected. The official data makes an interesting revelation that due to high property prices in Nagpur city, the demand for property is more in Nagpur Rural resulting in the latter area exceeding the target at the end of October itself. Senior officers in the Department of Registration and Stamp Duty told ‘The Hitavada’ that the dip in collection could be attributed to a variety of reasons. However, they said, the main reason was slump in realty market. “High prices of properties has resulted i...

  * Constitutes committee which comprises Nagpur Municipal Commissioner and NIT Chairman also as members By Kartik Lokhande  After rural areas, the Maharashtra Government has decided to concentrate on unauthorised and illegal constructions in cities. For the purpose, it has constituted a committee to formulate policy in this regard. The move comes close on the heels of the Government mooting amendments to various laws including Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning  (MRTP) Act to prevent and regularise unauthorised constructions in rural areas in the vicinity of major urban centres in the State. The committee constituted to formulate policy on curbing unauthorised constructions in cities, will study various aspects related to the issue. It will also suggest methods to prevent unauthorised constructions and effective action to be taken in such cases. Besides, the same committee will suggest ways and means to make the procedure for obtaining permissions...

* Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan projects Nagpur and discusses investment possibilities with multi-nationals including SABMiller Plc, IKEA, and Japan External Trade Organisation Staff Reporter Vidarbha region in general and Nagpur in particular have been attracting attention of major investors from across the world. This time, Maharashtra Government made it a point to promote Nagpur at the high-profile World Economic Forum meet held at Davos (Switzerland). Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan held discussions with several multi-national companies (MNCs) regarding investment possibilities in the region. Maharashtra Government delegation led by Chavan comprised Managing Director of CIDCO Sanjay Bhatia, Principal Secretary (Industries) Apurva Chandra, Chief Executive Officer of MIDC Bhushan Gagrani and others. The delegation held discussions with Zurich Airport; Cargill, largest privately held corporation in the US; SABMiller Plc, UK_based multi-national brewing and beverag...

State releases additional aid of Rs 60 crore for MIHAN Staff Reporter State Government has started expediting release of funds required to complete different tasks pertaining to various projects. As part of this marathon release of funds, it has released an additional aid of Rs 60 crore for expediting the process of acquisition of land for ambitious Multimodal International Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN). As far as approval to land acquisition proposals is concerned, State Government had given a nod to Rs 302.61 crore for acquisition of 145.29 hectares in the year 2012. As against this, the Government had released Rs 53.66 crore in the financial year 2011-12. For the year 2012-13, the Government released Rs 50 crore, and later released Rs 100 crore on August 30, 2013. So far, thus, the Government has released Rs 203.66 crore for land acquisition under MIHAN project. In the year 2011, the Government had sanctioned Rs 266 crore as ex-gratia to project-affected pers...

Staff Reporter “The Government of Maharashtra is keen on leveraging Vidarbha’s inherent strengths and facilitate the region’s transformation into a premium investment destination for a host of industries,” observed Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan in his message in the study ‘Advantage Vidarbha - An Emerging Business Destination’ conducted by KPMG. However, the Government of Maharashtra does not appear to be serious enough in transforming Vidarbha region into a premium investment destination. Else, how can one explain over 40 per cent posts lying vacant in Regional Office of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC)? Of a total 32 sanctioned posts in MIDC Regional Office at Nagpur, 13 are vacant. In fact, with expiry of the contract of six employees, more posts are vacant now. According to sources in Industries Department, Nagpur Regional Office of MIDC has to take care of 800 legal matters pending in different courts of law, interact with investors, look i...

SPECIAL REPORT Sudden declaration of wildlife sanctuary locks up mineral deposits worth Rs 10,000 crore * The case highlights how different Government departments work in isolation By Kartik Lokhande Passion at the cost of rationality, and working in isolation both harm the larger public interest if these things are related to the Government departments. In one such case, sudden declaration of Umred-Karhandla wildlife sanctuary in Nagpur district has locked up exploration of mineral wealth worth a whopping Rs 10,000 crore! On June 26, 2012, Maharashtra Government published a gazette notification vide which parts of Nagpur and Bhandara districts were clubbed to form new Umred-Karhandla wildlife sanctuary. As per the Forest Department notification, it broadly comprises Kitadi (Rithi), Ranbodi, Wanoda, Nawagaon villages of Nagpur district and Parsodi, Khapri, Jogikheda (Rithi), Chichgaon (Rithi) villages in Bhandara district. The total area of this wildlife sanctuary...

19-09-13 Staff Reporter Fire and Emergency Services Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has declared the building of Maharashtra Rashtrabhasha Sabha as ‘unsafe’ from fire safety point of view. The building was declared unsafe as it lacked necessary fire safety measures. The department had dubbed the building as ‘unsafe’ vide a notice issued on September 18. Rajendra Uchake, Chief Fire Officer of NMC, told ‘The Hitavada’ that the notice was issued as Maharashtra Rashtrabhasha Sabha did not comply with the fire safety provisions within stipulated time. “We had asked them to ensure that fire fighting systems were functioning properly. However, there was a lenient approach on part of the organisation. Hence, we have issued the notice,” he said. According to Uchake, Fire and Emergency Services Department had asked the organisation to vacate the building immediately. “We have asked them to install effective fire fighting system or vacate the premises immediate...

18-09-13 Crop loan disbursement to farmers dips this Kharif * NDCCB has not received refinance from Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank Staff Reporter The farmers in Nagpur district expected good harvest this year but their hopes were dampened by hig-intensity rainfall causing floods. Many were forced to opt for re-sowing this Kharif season. For the purpose, they required money. However, officials figures show that even the institutionalised crop loan disbursement this time is lower than that in the previous year. As per the official data, the crop loan disbursement was Rs 141.18 crore in 2008-09. As against the target of Rs 266.66 crore, the actual disbursement was only 52.94 per cent. The next year, disbursement was 102.96 per cent of the target. In 2010-11, it declined again to 79.88 per cent of target; followed by slight rise to 83.36 per cent of the target the next year. In 2012-13, the target for crop loan disbursement was Rs 650.19 crore and actual disbursemen...

15-09-13 * As per the assessment, 12,233 hectares of agricultural land is severely eroded and 1,413 hectares has been washed out in Nagpur Division Staff Reporter Stunned by the scale of erosion and washing out of agricultural land, the Government is giving a thought to chalking out a special programme to revive these lands. Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar made a statement to this effect while interacting with affected farmers during his ongoing tour. After visiting several villages including Pendhri (Deoli), Kinhi Dhanoli, Khapri (Gandhi), Kanholibara, and Takalghat. At Pendhri (Deoli) in Hingna tehsil of Nagpur district; Umra, Gaul, Bhosa, Kandhli in Wardha district; Kinhala (Kalamb), Mohda, Kopa Mandvi, Pimpalkhuti (Pandharkawda) in Yavatmal district; Pawar visited the damaged farms and also interacted with affected farmers. He saw the plight of farmers first-hand and admitted before farmers that it was beyond their resources to restore the eroded and washe...

15-09-13 Nagpur Division requires Rs 1565 cr to repair damage to infrastructure * This damage to infrastructure is other than the damage caused to agriculture and personal properties Staff Reporter Everyone has agreed that floods and high-intensity rainfall between June and August have caused widespread damage to agriculture and resulted in loss of life and property. However, there is one more major aspect -- damage to infrastructure. As per the administration’s latest report, which was presented before Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar as well as the Central team that visited Vidarbha region recently, the damage to infrastructure in Nagpur Division has been assessed to be worth Rs 1,564.8775 crore. In almost every city and village in six districts of Nagpur Division, roads are in poor shape. There are places where bridges and culverts have been washed away. Many buildings of schools/colleges and healthcare centres, power transmission and distribution lines, i...

11,36,000 LPG consumers to get DBTL scheme benefits Staff Reporter With barely 20 days in hand, the district administration has started preparations for Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG consumers (DBTL) scheme. A total of 11,36,000 LPG consumers from Nagpur city and district are expected to get benefited under the ambitious scheme for direct transfer of subsidy to bank accounts of consumers. Nagpur city has 8,60,000 LPG consumers while the rural areas have 2,76,000. They are supplied LPG cylinders through 51 gas agencies in Nagpur city and 22 in rural areas. To facilitate implementation of DBTL scheme from October 1, the district administration held a meeting of all gas agencies and oil marketing companies. In the meeting, necessary instructions regarding proper data collection, processing, and submission were given. Besides, oil marketing companies were asked to launch a massive awareness campaign for LPG consumers. “In collaboration with oil marketing companies, the ...

* The amount has been released as part of the Rs 200 crore package for rehabilitation of PAPs Staff Reporter Here is a good news for project-affected persons (PAPs) of Multimodal International Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) project. Maharashtra Government has released Rs 100 crore for rehabilitation of PAPs, as part of a package involving higher amount. Rehabilitation of PAPs has been a contentious issue as far as MIHAN project is concerned. When the major part of land acquisition was over, an additional portion of 145.29 hectares of land had remained to be acquired. Initially, the Government had released additional aid of Rs 266 crore for rehabilitation of PAPs. Of this, Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) got Rs 189.20 crore on March 3, 2012. Later on, a provision of Rs 302.61 crore was made for acquisition of remaining 145.29 hectares of land specially in Jaitala and Bhamti area. The provision was made on March 30, 2012. Of this amount, Rs 53.66 crore w...

Regularise pre-Jan 2013 unauthorised constructions in rural areas: Govt panel * Also recommends scrapping the ‘concept of obtaining NA permission’ on the line of step taken by Madhya Pradesh Government * Panel favours making it mandatory for contractor/builder to register with respective municipal corporation/municipal council/District Collector * FIR to be lodged against Sarpanch, deputy, member of Gram Panchayat who grants protection/permission to unauthorised construction in respective areas * Several legal and administrative changes also have been recommended by the panel By Kartik Lokhande Finally, the cat is out of the bag. What was expected all these years, has come out in black-and-white in the report of the High-level Committee appointed by Maharashtra Government to curb unauthorised/illegal constructions in rural areas in the vicinity of major cities including Nagpur. The committee has recommended regularisation of all such unauthorised constructions that came...

Staff Reporter The excessive rainfall in Nagpur Division has inflicted heavy damage to roads and bridges in six districts. As per the estimates of Public Works Department (PWD), the damage is worth a whopping Rs 596 crore! Besides, loss to Government properties has been assessed to be worth Rs 5.60 crore. According to PWD officials, the rains this year have been ‘extra-ordinary’. The rainfall paralysed life in urban and rural areas in six districts of Nagpur Division namely Nagpur, Wardha, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Bhandara, and Gondia. In the division, PWD maintains road length of 12,590 kms. This year, excessive rainfall was received on June 26, July 19, and July 27 apart from other spells of excessive rainfall in various parts of the division. Published in The Hitavada CityLine on August 7, 2013 PWD assessed the damage caused to roads, bridges, and Government properties till July 27. The rains damaged road length of 3,309 kms and 122 bridges. According to PWD ...

Rs 186.88 cr for new schemes under Human Devpt Mission * 1,375 anganwadi buildings, 375 health sub-centres, and 3,125 study rooms are to be constructed under three new schemes in 125 tehsils across the State * These tehsils include 60 from Vidarbha region Staff Reporter Here is a news that holds promise of giving a boost to rural development in backward areas of Vidarbha region. Planning Department has cleared three new schemes under Human Development Mission (HDM), which is being implemented in 125 tehsils across the State including 60 from Vidarbha region. HDM was launched in 25 tehsils of 12 districts. From the financial year 2011-12, it is being implemented in 125 tehsils of 22 districts. These include Buldhana, Akola, Washim, Amravati, Yavatmal, Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur, and Gadchiroli from Vidarbha region. For the purpose of implementation of the programme, Class ‘C’ municipal councils and rural areas of selected tehsils. Already, various schemes und...

First Person Account Of cloud-burst and undesirable romance with the rain By Kartik Lokhande NAGPUR, July 31, 2013: Traffic trickled in absolute slow-motion as strong currents of water, which came with heaviest spell of rainfall this season, sapped roads in almost all the parts of the city. Drivers literally navigated their vehicles through knee-deep waters, and pedestrians were left with no choice but to get soaked to the bone. These scenes were very common across the Orange City on Wednesday evening. It all started, after a short span of golden sunshine, with the pleasant rainfall in the morning returning in furious mood after a short break in the afternoon. The rainfall started when I was on way to Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to cover a press conference, as is the part of every journalist’s duty. it was roughly around 3.45 pm when rainfall started. I was near Maharajbagh and rushed to NMC, where I heaved a sigh of relief with a hot cup of tea that also took som...