Nagpur: Uneasy lies the heads wearing crowns! The Corporators in Nagpur, who are also called City Fathers, are squirming as the election to Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) are drawing closer and closer. With election blues hounding their gray areas the Corporators, Ruling as well as Opposition, have been found adopting a slew of tactics to “stay alive” and woo the voters as well. These Corporators are now pressing for hefty funds on any of the heads to carry out the last minute “development works” in their respective Prabhags and keep the electorate in good mood. With this “mission” in mind, the aspiring Corporators are knocking the doors of Ruling Party Leader, the Mayor and Chairman of Standing Committee no end and seeking favours.
NMC Budget likely on March 28:
According to a close aide of Chairman of Standing Committee the next Budget of Nagpur Municipal Corporation for 2016-17 is likely to be presented by the newly appointed chief Bandu Raut on March 28. Apart from the babudom of the civic body, a Private Assistant of the Chairman of Standing Committee named Farkase has got actively busy in juggling of figures as a “special man.”
Purchase of TTL machine hanging fire:
Showcasing its dismal affairs, the purchase of the vital Turntable Ladder (TTL) or snorkel for Fire Brigade Department to fight infernos at high-rise buildings is still hanging fire despite green signal by the Standing Committee. According to sources, the state-of-the-art Turntable Ladder is proposed to be supplied by an Austrian company. However, the deal seems to have got stuck in the “shady hands” of the concerned babus and office-bearers. Until the ‘greasing of palms’ of these ‘shady hands’ is done by the authorised agent of the company in India the machine would not see the sunlight in Nagpur.
Cement roads may “cover” poll bounty:
The present Standing Committee is likely to approve construction of a network of cement roads in city at a cost of Rs 225 crore. However, the approval would not go an inch forward unless the traditional “nasty deals” between the prospective contractors and the Standing Committee is hammered out. A minimum one percent ‘grease’ could make the panel richer by Rs 22.5 crore! A former chief of the Standing Committee had approved cement roads worth crores in 2015-16. A foreign jaunt by the panel chief at the expense of a contractor was a talking point in the civic body.
