The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has revived its long-pending eviction drive against unauthorised commercial establishments at Kachipura after the Maharashtra government recently lifted a decade-old stay on demolition proceedings.
The civic body is preparing to issue notices to 56 commercial establishments spread across nearly 19.82 hectares of land belonging to Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV) along Central Bazar Road.
Officials clarified that the proposed action is limited to commercial encroachments and that there is no plan at present to demolish the adjoining notified Kachipura slum, which is home to around 1,200 residents.
Dharampeth Zone Assistant Municipal Commissioner Rajkumar Meshram said notices under Section 53(1) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966, will soon be served to the occupants. The notices will give them 15 days to remove the unauthorised structures, failing which the NMC will carry out demolition.
“We are preparing the notices and will place the draft before senior officials for approval. Occupants will be given 15 days to comply, after which action will be taken as per law,” Meshram said.
The move follows the Urban Development Department’s order dated June 23, which rejected an appeal filed by a group of occupants and vacated the interim protection granted in 2016. The state government upheld the NMC’s 2015 decision to reject building permission applications and initiate demolition proceedings.
According to Meshram, notices had already been issued in 2015, and hearings for 26 applicants who challenged the action were completed. “All 56 unauthorised commercial structures are proposed to be removed,” he said, adding that the matter is also scheduled to come up before the High Court on June 29.
The disputed land, located between Bajaj Nagar Square and Kachipura Square behind East Shankar Nagar, has over the years developed into a bustling commercial hub with restaurants, banquet halls, marriage lawns, gas godowns, automobile service centres, offices and other businesses. Civic officials claim that several of these establishments are allegedly owned or backed by politically influential individuals.
The NMC had launched action under Sections 53 and 55 of the MRTP Act in July 2015 after detecting large-scale unauthorised commercial activity on agricultural land leased to PDKV under Khasra Nos. 104 to 209. Apart from lacking sanctioned building permissions, many establishments were also allegedly operating without mandatory fire safety clearances from the NMC’s Fire and Emergency Services Department.
Meshram reiterated that the adjoining Kachipura slum will not be touched as of now. Officials said any action against the slum would require its denotification by the state government and the preparation of a rehabilitation plan for eligible residents. Until then, the notified slum remains protected from civic demolition, while the focus remains on removing unauthorised commercial encroachments.
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