Shutters of 22 shops were removed ahead of the mammoth task of actual demolition of the fly-over
Nagpur: Finally, the fly-over in front of Nagpur Railway Station is being pulled down in phases to make way for a six-lane road from Jaistambh Square to Manas Square as part of makeover of the central part of the city.
Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) initiated the process to demolish the fly-over on Monday. Initially, shutters of the shop situated below the flyover are being removed. By Monday evening, shutters of 22 shops were removed ahead of the mammoth task of actual demolition of the fly-over. Constructed about a decade ago, the fly-over from its opening for traffic proved to be a problematic infrastructure of the city. Apart from being mismatch in the aesthetics of the road, the fly-over was of never much of use for the commuters. Creation of shops as part of the fly-over was not just an eyesore but also affected smooth flow of traffic in front of the railway station.
The fly-over ended-up creating problems for the travellers moving in and out of the Railway Station’s west end instead of better traffic movement. “NMC went ahead with removal of shutters starting with 15 shops that remained vacant as there were no takers for the same after they were constructed about 12 years back. A total of 175 shops are housed in the fly-over,” said Milind Meshram, Deputy Commissioner (Revenue), NMC, while talking to media.
“In all, 44 shopkeepers have opted for NMC scheme of golden handshake, taking their money and vacating the shops in the all out deal. About 57 shopkeepers have opted for alternate shops constructed on the land of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) on station road itself,” informed Meshram. When asked about the court case, Meshram said, “According to NMC records, 19 shopkeepers have filed a petition in High Court seeking stay on the proposed demolition of the station road fly-over. About 25 other shopkeepers have approached District Court and they too have sought stay. Right now, none of the courts has issued a stay order. Hence NMC, as per its plans, is going ahead with the process of demolition the flyover. Notices to vacate the shop situated below the flyover were served to respective shopkeepers long back.”
Shopkeepers, who are opposing demolition of the fly-over, have sought parity with land owners in Samruddhi Mahamarg project as to compensation from NMC. They are seeking enhanced compensation and hence approached the court, added Meshram. Citing the case of Samruddhi Mahamarg and its compensation formula, Meshram said, “In the case of the station road fly-over, the shops were provided for 30 years to the occupants. This is the difference between both the cases. Hence NMC formula is to provide 8 per cent interest on deposit provided by the shopkeepers at time of booking minus the rent for 12 years, the period for which the shop was occupied.”
“The compensation formula worked out by NMC was quite fair. The shopkeepers were given an option of choosing shops of their choice at an alternate site that is in vicinity of Nagpur Railway Station,” said Meshram. As per grapevine, the planners then invested public money and their time to construct the fly-over with primary aim to discourage travellers from patronising the western end of the Nagpur Railway Station. The second part was to popularise the Santra Market entry and make it primary gateway to main station. However, the authorities could not succeed in decongesting the Cotton Market road stretch that was linedup with encroachments. Nor was the connectivity to Eastern part of station improved to facilitate hassle-free entry and exit of the travellers from the station that serves as major junction in central India. Nagpurians were the sufferers for more than decade thanks to ill-conceived plan of the fly-over that is being demolished.
