The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is staring at a financial crunch and has urgently sought the state government’s nod to raise a ₹400 crore loan to keep the Pohra River Pollution Abatement Project from derailing.
Part of the Central Government’s AMRUT 2.0 scheme, the ₹957 crore project is aimed at cleaning up the heavily polluted Pohra river — a lifeline turned sewer for East Nagpur. NMC’s share is ₹478.5 crore, but due to strained coffers, it’s falling short by ₹400 crore.
Having exhausted internal funds, the civic body has now requested the Urban Development Department (UDD) for permission to borrow from commercial banks. “Once approved, we’ll negotiate with banks for the best loan terms,” said a senior finance department official.
The rest of NMC’s share — around ₹78 crore — will be patched together using Finance Commission funds. But unless the loan comes through soon, key project components like sewage diversion and treatment infrastructure could face delays, affecting contractor payments and slowing down progress.
With both Centre and State having committed their shares, the burden squarely lies on NMC. Officials warn that any further hold-up in funding could stall one of Nagpur’s most ambitious and desperately needed river clean-up drives.
The loan file is now with the state government. For the people of East Nagpur, the wait for a cleaner river now depends not on machinery — but on money.
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