NMC panel pitches for handing over transport service to Maha Metro
   Date :26-Feb-2021

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Staff Reporter :
 
Going beyond its mandate, Transport Committee of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) joined the chorus and decided to handover transport service lock-stock-barrel to Maha Metro. The cash-starved Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dominated Transport Committee accepted the proposal to hive off the city bus service and entire wing, said Narendra Borkar, Chairperson, Transport Committee, while interacting with newspersons at civic headquarters on Thursday. A meeting of Transport Committee was held wherein the main agenda was to discuss proposal for handing over the bus service to metro.
 
The city bus service is running in losses and NMC is finding it difficult to run the same owing to low tax collection and rising liabilities. Borkar said Narendra Walde of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Nitin Sathwane of Congress Party, both members of Transport Committee, moved a note saying that if and when Maha Metro takes over city bus service, corporators should be taken on board as Trustee. He also said, NMC had 437 red buses and 40 new electric buses in its fleet that would be arriving by month end. It would be handed over to Maha Metro to ensure integration of transport services within city. Maha Metro has been pressing NMC for aligning city bus services so that there is no competition on existing metro routes.
 
Their say is that city buses should act as feeder to metro services on Orange route and Aqua line so that both the agencies do not clash. But Transport Committee is more than willing and keen that entire Transport Wing should be merged into Maha Metro. The suspension on Metro route would have piled-up the losses for NMC as for citizens bus service is more approachable near their homes than metro on Sitabuldi-Butibori route while metro service is yet to start in East Nagpur and North Nagpur. NMC is incurring an expenditure of Rs 164 crore on running the city bus services while earnings are meager Rs 64 crore. Though civic body roped in three operators to run the bus service, the same is not working as revenue leakage continues to be a major factor.
 
The Transport Committee has posted the matter about handing over city bus service to Maha Metro to NMC’s House as same involves policy decision. Along with bus service, the issue also involved giving permission for take over depots, parking areas like about 0.75 Ha land near Yeshwant Stadium, 1.25 Ha land on Hingna Road, 3.54 Ha at Khapri octroi post, 1.113 Ha at Wadi octroi post, 1.782 Ha at Koradi bus depot, 0.36 Ha at Lakadganj Small Factory Area, and area taken on lease at Mor Bhawan. After approval from the House, the proposal would be forwarded to Maharashtra Government for ratification since municipal corporations are mandated under the Maharashtra Municipal Act to operate bus services. Now that NMC is ready to surrender its mandate, the same may require amendment to the Act, feels the experts. Borkar said, if Maharashtra Government approves NMC’s proposal then same would go to Central Government and the Maha Metro’s Board would taken final call on city bus service. The entire process may take six months or more. Borkar informed that the Transport Committee also approved proposal to provide 18 mini buses to Maha Metro for operating the feeder service on 18 routes. The feeder service would enable Metro to provide seamless connectivity to its stations from nearby areas. Similarly, 52 electric buses would be handed over to Maha Metro.
 
Subject panels’ election process begins today
 
 Staff Reporter :
 
The election of Chairpersons of subject committees of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is scheduled on March 1. As per the notification, nomination forms for the elections to Chairperson and Deputy Chairpersons would start simultaneously from Friday onwards at Standing Committee Hall at civic headquarters in Civil Lines. This election will be held for various subject committees as per the provisions of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act. These include Special Committee on Projects, Medical Services and Health, Law and General Administration, Education, Slums and Housing, Sports, Women and Child Welfare, Water Works, Taxation and Tax Collection, Fire and Electricity Special Committee. The list of candidates will be published at the office of the Secretary, NMC, after scrutiny of nomination forms. Elections will be held through video conferencing under the chairmanship of District Collector who presides over, said Dr Ranjana Lade, Secretary, NMC. The Chairperson of Transport Committee also has put in his papers as per the direction of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However the current notification is silent about election of new Chairperson of Transport Committee. With just a year left for civic election, ruling party wants to provide chance to new faces among its 107 corporators so as to curb the dissidence that may rise later. Hence it decided to replace all the current Chairpersons, barring that of Education and Tax Committee where repeat term is provided to existing heads by the BJP.