Nagpur: A sensational allegation of corruption has rocked the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), with West Nagpur MLA and Nagpur City Congress President Vikas Thakre accusing senior officials in the Town Planning Department of sanctioning an illegal multi-storeyed hospital and commercial complex on a nazul plot leased exclusively for residential use.
Thakre claimed that the building plan was approved by NMC engineers in blatant violation of lease terms, court orders, and area norms, and further alleged that Administrator Dr. Abhijeet Chaudhari is deliberately shielding the errant officials despite a legal opinion confirming serious irregularities.
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28 Oct 2025
According to documents cited by Thakre, the Nazul Department of the Collector’s Office had leased a 1,622.9 sq.mt plot (No. 26/1) at Dhantoli to the Sumbh family strictly for residential purposes. Former Vidarbha cricketer Ashok Bhagwat purchased 789 sq.mt of this plot in 1988 and built a residential flat scheme on his share facing Spandan Hospital.
However, in 2021, NMC’s Town Planning Department sanctioned a G+8-storeyed commercial and hospital complex (39.52 metres high) on the western portion of the same plot, towards Wardha Road, to builder Sanjeev Sharma, who holds the Power of Attorney from the Sumbh family.
“This approval is a clear fraud,” alleged Thakre. “The nazul lease permitted only residential construction, yet NMC engineers sanctioned a hospital and commercial building by manipulating records. This shows deep-rooted collusion between civic officials and the builder.”
A legal opinion by Senior Counsel S.K. Mishra, sought by NMC itself, confirmed that the sanction violated nazul lease conditions and could not be justified.
List of major irregularities
1. Violation of Nazul Lease: The plot was leased for residential use, but a commercial and hospital building was sanctioned, directly breaching nazul rules.
2. Inflated Plot Area and FSI Manipulation: NMC engineers approved the plan on a falsified area of 1,761.89 sq.mt instead of the actual 1,622.9 sq.mt, inflating the land by 138.99 sq.mt to grant higher FSI benefits to the builder.
3. Breach of Court Decree: A Compromise Decree in Special Civil Suit No. 219/1996 made joint consent from the Sumbh and Bhagwat families mandatory for any construction approval. NMC ignored this binding order and sanctioned the plan solely based on the builder’s request.
4. Fraudulent Sub-Division of Plot: In 2019, the Sumbh family misled the Collector’s Office by falsely claiming they were building a residential structure, when in fact they had already secured a 2016 plan for hospital and commercial use, without the consent of co-owner Bhagwat.
5. Illegal Revised Plan in 2021: Despite the 2019 sub-division, NMC engineers approved a revised plan increasing the building height and floors on the combined plot, thus illegally extending FSI and margin relaxations.
6. Neglect of repeated complaints: Lt. Col. Anant Bhagwat, son of Ashok Bhagwat, has been lodging complaints since 2014, but officials continued to favour the builder and even issued a Part Occupancy Certificate for eight floors in 2023, allegedly exploiting his prolonged absence due to military duty.
7. Inaction despite legal warning: After assuming charge in July 2023, Administrator Dr. Abhijeet Chaudhari sought a fresh legal opinion in June 2025, which once again confirmed multiple violations and advised against issuing the Occupancy Certificate. However, instead of acting against the engineers, he merely sought written explanations from 13 officials, which Thakre described as a “cover-up.”
Political outrage and demands
Terming it a “multi-crore scam engineered under the Administrator’s watch”, Thakre said Dr. Chaudhari’s failure to act indicates a clear nexus between the Administrator and corrupt engineers.
“This is another glaring example of deep-rooted corruption in NMC. The Administrator has turned a blind eye to blatant violations and continues to protect his team. These officers have created a parallel system of brokers and are looting the city in the name of development,” Thakre alleged.
He further condemned the apathy shown toward Lt. Col. Anant Bhagwat’s complaints, saying, “It is shameful that an Army officer serving the nation has been denied justice for over a decade. If this is how the system treats a soldier, what hope does a common citizen have?”
Thakre has written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, demanding:
• Immediate suspension of all 13 engineers involved
• Disciplinary action against Administrator Dr. Abhijeet Chaudhari
• Cancellation of the illegal building plan and occupancy certificate
• Nazul Department intervention to reclaim the plot and building for breach of lease conditions
• A high-level probe into all approvals and financial dealings executed under the Administrator’s tenure over the last 27 months
“The misuse of authority in NMC has reached alarming levels. The government must act decisively to restore transparency and public faith. Those responsible for manipulating records and violating laws must face exemplary punishment,” Thakre asserted.
The controversy has once again raised serious questions about transparency, oversight, and accountability in NMC’s Town Planning Department, with growing calls for a full-fledged anti-corruption inquiry into the alleged nexus between civic officials and influential builders.
