– After February, no action taken by NMC over unauthorised construction
Nagpur :- Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), which is mostly very active in imposing fines on construction material kept on road or against illegal construction, seems to be very slow in taking action against unauthorised construction happening on prime piece of Church land in Sadar.
This is the second such incident in the recent past. Lokmat Times had earlier exposed that alleged unauthorised construction of a garment showroom was being done on Church Land in Sadar. This case is now being heard before the High Court.
In the recent incident, Church of North India Social Service Institute (CNISSI) has submitted a complaint with Dharampeth Zone of NMC, claiming that even after several letters officials have not taken action against illegal construction happening on church land opposite Buty Cineplex, Sadar.
Director of CNISSI, Aradhana Upadhyay said that the organization had submitted eight letters to NMC since 2020 regarding illegal construction on the land by one Gautam Singh.
The complaint claims that in 2017, 200 sq ft plot was given to Singh to run a mobile cart shop but he allegedly changed the nature of the business without permission from CNISSI and also tried to encroach on the portion of property which belongs to Nagpur Diocesan Trust Association (NDTA). Singh also started “Flavour Heights” a restaurant at the spot and has also started making construction without proper approvals from the civic authority.
Junior engineer at NMC’s Dharampeth Zone Rakesh Zade said on February 20, 2023, they had issued a notice to Singh and NDTA to stop the unauthorized construction and demolish it. “Singh is the tenant while NDTA is the owner so we issued the notice to them. They had stopped the work for sometime but have resumed again. We will again issue a notice to them to stop the construction and demolish the unauthorised works within 5 weeks or NMC will demolish it,” said Zade.
Upadhyay said the CNISSI had been making several correspondences with NMC but they have not taken any action for reasons best known to them. “When some construction material of a common person is lying on the road NMC soon imposes fine but when such a big construction is happening under NMC’s nose, they have not taken any action,” said Upadhyay.
Sources said that infighting between the organizations of Church of North India (CNI) and help from some members is encouraging encroachers.
CNI’s Bishop Paul Dupare who is also the chairman of NDTA said that the person involved in this unauthorised construction has been doing it illegally and by force. “We have approached NMC several times but they are not doing anything. Such incidents hurt our community and where will we go if not to government organizations with our grievances,” said Bishop Dupare.
