In a decisive breakthrough for the city’s ecological heritage, the ambitious Rs 1,927-crore Naag River Pollution Abatement and Rejuvenation Project has secured additional operational capital of Rs 61.96 crore. The Union Government, the Maharashtra State Administration, and the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) are jointly clearing the allocation. Marking a shift toward stringent financial governance, this tranche is being disbursed via the Central Government’s digital SNA-SPARSH fund-flow architecture. All fiscal disbursements will be directly through the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) accounts to maintain real-time oversight, curb procedural bottlenecks, and ensure unhindered capital flow for on-ground execution.

 

When tried contacting the Executive Engineer Rajesh Dufare, to seek information regarding the project, ‘The Hitavada’ received no response. The sanctioned Rs 61.96-crore corpus reflects a pre-agreed 60:25:15 tripartite equity framework. The Central Ministry will provide the share of Rs 37.18 crore (60 per cent), the Maharashtra Government has committed Rs 15.49 crore (25 per cent), and the cash-strapped civic body will contribute Rs 9.29 crore (15 per cent) as its local share.

 

Historically integral to Nagpur’s civic identity, the river has degraded over decades into an open sewage conduit carrying untreated domestic and commercial effluents. The comprehensive master plan envisions decentralised interceptors, dedicated sewage treatment infrastructure, riverfront embankments, and channel desilting across designated project packages. With administrative clearances and capital reserves now falling into place, on-site physical interventions are poised to gain long-delayed momentum.