Nagpur: In a run up to the ensuing Nagpur Municipal Corporaton (NMC) elections next year, BJP is gearing up to gain political momentum in order to consolidate its position. The BJP led NMC standing committee meet okayed various development works costing Rs 39 crores. As per the structured plan, most of these works would be carried out in the wards represented by BJP corporators and those falling under the constituency of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
However Standing committee chairman Sudhir Raut turned down the allegation that the committee was only concentrating development works in wards represented by the ruling party corporators. He claimed four different proposals of development works approved on Monday came from wards represented by Congress corporators.
The civic administration has submitted around 40 proposals for various developmental works. Of them, the panel gave its nod for digging 100 borewells in many residential localities. Of the 89.14 lakh needed for the project, the NMC would spend 9.91 lakh, while 90% expenditure would be borne by the state government. Now, the civic body would send the proposal to the state government for its nod. Though admitting that the proposal was tabled late, Raut failed to explain when the proposal to dig borewells would be actually implemented.
The panel also gave its nod to project department’s proposal to asphalt internal roads in timber market on either side of the Old Bhandara Road. The civic body will be spending 1.37 crore on this project. The work would provide relief to motorists using the pothole-ridden roads. The panel also gave its nod to revise advertisement rates for 21 different places, as it would help the civic body to generate 21.29 lakh in three financial years.
The committee gave green signal to the public works department to prepare a development plan for Gorakshan Sabha premises on Wardha Road worth 5.99 crore. Though the state government would spend 75% of the project amount, the civic body would contribute 74,98,120 and the trust would be spending similar amount.
Raut admitted that though his annual budget for the year 2016-2017 was passed on March 30, the civic administration has not yet implemented it. NMC’s chief finance and accounts officer Madan Gadge said that the standing committee’s budget would be enforced within a couple of days as it is with the municipal commissioner Shravan Hardikar.
Gadge said this month the civic body has not received the LBT grant, adding though it received 34.55 crore special grant from the state government to improve civic infrastructure in various localities under South-West Constituency. Similarly, the civic body received 7 crore under minority development fund, 3 crore for stand duty, 2 crore for smart city project and 20 crore under Amrut Yojana.
