Nagpur: Guardian Minister and State Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Friday came down heavily on government departments over the unexplained delay in rebuilding the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Sanskrutik Bhavan at Ambazari Garden, making it clear that no development project in the garden will move forward until the demolished cultural centre is reconstructed on the same site.
Despite the State Government sanctioning Rs 10 crore for the reconstruction, not a single brick has been laid, prompting Bawankule to openly express his displeasure and sharply reprimand senior officials during the District Planning Committee (DPC) meeting at Niyojan Bhavan.
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23 Jan 2026
The issue was raised by North Nagpur MLA Dr Nitin Raut, who reminded the administration that explicit directions had already been issued in the previous DPC meeting to rebuild the Ambedkar Bhavan at its original location. “Those orders have been ignored,” Raut pointed out, demanding accountability.
Seeking an explanation, Bawankule grilled officials of the Public Works Department (PWD), who claimed they were unable to access the site as it had been barricaded with tin sheets and guarded by a private agency. Tourism Department officials attempted to cite a court stay order as the reason for inaction.
Rejecting the explanation outright, Bawankule clarified that the court stay applies only to proposed tourism projects in Ambazari Garden and does not bar the reconstruction of the demolished Ambedkar Bhavan. “The Ambedkar Bhavan must be rebuilt exactly where it stood. The stay order is no excuse,” he said, adding that the matter had already been discussed with the Chief Minister, who approved the Rs 10-crore allocation.
Calling the delay unacceptable, Bawankule directed the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), Tourism Department and PWD to personally intervene, study the court order in detail and resolve all obstacles immediately, warning that bureaucratic buck-passing would not be tolerated.
Stern action ordered over Ambazari Lake pollution
In a separate but equally stern directive, the Guardian Minister took serious note of the continuous discharge of polluted water into Ambazari Lake and expressed strong anger over the issue. He instructed Municipal Commissioner Dr Abhijit Chaudhari to register criminal cases against concerned officials of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) if investigations confirm that untreated industrial effluents are being released into the lake.
Special panel to curb human–wildlife conflict
Highlighting the rising incidents of tiger and leopard movement in urban and farming areas of Nagpur district, Bawankule described the situation as alarming and announced the formation of a special committee to develop grasslands and address human–wildlife conflict.
The committee will be headed by Minister of State for Finance and Planning Ashish Jaiswal and will include MP Shyamkumar Barve, District Collector Dr Vipin Itankar, senior forest department officials and wildlife experts. The panel will work on long-term preventive measures to reduce attacks on humans and farmers.
Bawankule made it clear that environmental protection, heritage preservation and public safety would remain non-negotiable priorities, and warned that departments failing to act would face strict consequences.
