MSRTC starts process of shifting Controller’s office near Rly Station

Acting on the orders of Revenue Department, Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) from Friday started packing material at Divisional Controller's office to vacate the premises adjoining Nagpur Railway Station. Nearly two acres land is in possession of the State Road Transport Corporation wherein it houses the Controller’s office that is being shifted to Central Bus Stand campus at Ganespeth. The nearly two acres of prime land adjoining railway station will be reverted back to Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). Civic body in turn will lease out the land to Maha Metro that proposes to construct a multistoreyed commercial complex to house shopkeepers having shops below station road fly-over. Until shopkeepers are provided alternate accommodation the fly-over demolition cannot start.

 

 

Divisional Controller’s office at the spot is functioning since formation of Nagpur Division post creation of State of Maharashtra. The spot was also the first bus stand of city starting from early fifties and thereafter bus operations were shifted to sprawling Central Bus Stand. But till early nineties buses of MSRTC plying within Nagpur District continued to operate from the said station road premises. However due to congestion and increase in travellers, the operation of buses from Station Road also stopped.

 

 

As per Ashok Warthe, Divisional Controller, the packing of papers and shifting of material will require nearly a month-long period. After shifting the corporation would undertake removal of sheds from where once buses operated. Only after this process is complete will the land formally given to NMC and later Maha Metro will have to start demolish the sprawling building. So in nutshell the process of demolition of fly-over on station road will require atleast as before that Maha Metro need to put in place the multi-storeyed complex at MSRTC land.

 

 

Also Metro officials hope by that time the tangle of MPSRTC land gets resolved to enable proper planning for commercial complex. The bus stand was established given its proximity to main railway station to ensure that travellers do not need to travel long distance for either taking bus or catching train. Now that NMC has proposed widening of the station road for which demolition of fly-over is necessary, the adjoining lands of MSRTC and MPSRTC was required. MPSRTC meanwhile has secured stay on orders of District Collector directing it to surrender its land title to NMC. This was during last year and since then stalemate continues on the MPSRTC land which is less than one acre. But MSRTC land reached upto Central Railway’s Nagpur Division boundary.