A prime plot in Nagpur, leased for just ₹1 a year by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) in 1986 for public welfare, has become the center of a storm involving alleged encroachment, political pressure, and blatant misuse.
The 7,000 sq ft land in Thakkargram was given to the Barestar Rajabhau Khobragade Memorial Society to build facilities for education, health, and women-child welfare. Yet, for over 30 years, the land remained untouched. Despite this, the lease was quietly renewed multiple times—most recently for another 30 years—even though official audits in 2008 and 2018 recommended its cancellation and proposed its use for sanitation workers’ quarters instead.
What has shocked civic activists is that the society, not only failed to develop the original plot but also fenced off an additional 22,000 sq ft of adjacent land in early 2025—right as the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) began constructing a ₹31.63 lakh Samaj Bhavan there under a Dalit community welfare scheme.
The encroachment comes in direct violation of the Urban Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR), which require timely development or cancellation of such leases. Section 92 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act also empowers the NMC to reclaim land not serving its intended purpose.
Yet, political muscle seems to have overruled legal mandates. Sources allege that a Congress MLA backed the lease extension, raising questions about the influence of lobbying in the process.
To make matters worse, the NMC had earlier evicted vegetable vendors from the same land during an encroachment drive in 2023—only to leave the plot empty again. “If this land can’t be used for hawker zones or public benefit, why give it to those doing nothing with it?” asked Abdul Razzaque Qureshi of the Town Vending Committee, warning of legal action.
As construction halts and fences go up, the big question remains: Will the NMC uphold the law—or surrender to politics yet again?
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