State Cabinet reverses decision to scrap NIT

 

 

 

 

Five years after the erstwhile Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Government’s decision to scrap Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) and merge it with Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government has decided to revive NIT. State Cabinet took decision in this regard in its meeting held in Mumbai on Thursday. Dr Nitin Raut, Guardian Minister of district and senior Congress leader, had been pressing for the decision to revive NIT and declare it as planning authority once again.

 

He raised the demand in State Cabinet meeting held on Thursday. Sunil Kedar, Animal Husbandry Minister and another senior leader of Congress, supported Dr Raut’s suggestion. Accordingly, State Cabinet decided to reverse the decisions taken on December 27, 2016 and August 13, 2019, by the erstwhile BJP-led Government. “In the present situation, there is no need to implement the decisions taken earlier in this regard,” stated an official release issued after the State Cabinet meeting that was chaired by Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief. NIT was formed in the year 1936. Years later, on March 11, 2002, the then State Government declared NMC as planning authority for Nagpur city, barring seven schemes under implementation by NIT. The overlapping jurisdiction of NIT and NMC was a point of friction between both the authorities.

 

There was a demand to scrap NIT or curtail its powers drastically for areas within 217 sq km expanse of Nagpur city. Due to various complex issues involved and the demand from various quarters, the erstwhile BJP-led State Government’s Cabinet granted in-principle approval to merger of NIT with NMC on December 27, 2016. However, the then State Government missed the first deadline for completion of merger process, that is, December 31, 2017. Then, fresh deadline of June 15, 2018 was set for completing the merger process. However, it, too, was missed. The then Government had cited various reasons for missing the deadlines. These included litigations, issues concerning absorption of employees, stamp duty collection, etc.

 

On July 4, 2019, the State Cabinet gave its nod to dissolution of NIT and resolved that NMC would be the sole planning authority for Nagpur city. However, again, the process could not get completed. NIT’s records stayed with it. Whenever NMC needed the records, it sent an employee to NIT’s record section, got the file, and then return it after the job was done. NIT kept presenting its budget. According to Dr Nitin Raut, the amendments to the rules pertaining to NIT were not effected despite the in-principle decision to merge NIT with NMC in 2019. As such, the process of scrapping NIT was not completed and the decision of the erstwhile BJP-led Government became ‘outdated’, Dr Raut said. Though the BJP was strongly opposed to revival of NIT, Congress leaders pitched for reversing the decision to scrap NIT.

 

Dr Nitin Raut had been consistently demanding restoration of NIT as planning authority. He cited incomplete works in city and fulfilling development of city as the main reasons. In a letter written last year, Dr Raut and later Vikas Thakre, West Nagpur MLA and Congress city chief, had cited several reasons to justify revival of NIT including complete failure of NMC in Gunthewari regularisation and development of unauthorised layouts. Congress leaders felt that reviving NIT, speedily completing Gunthewari regularisation, and issuing release letters would boost the party prospects during NMC polls slated early next year.

 

Scrapping NIT was not practical: Raut Dr Nitin Raut, Guardian Minister of district and senior Congress leader, said that the decision of the erstwhile BJP-led Government to scrap NIT was ‘not practical’. “After the announcement of the decision to scrap NIT, there was laxity in regularisation of Gunthewari cases. Also, the development works had come to a standstill. This led to discontent among the people. Hence, State Cabinet has taken the decision to revive NIT,” he said. NIT has enough experience and expertise, manpower, and mechanism to regularise Gunthewari cases and it will clear the cases in time, he added. Since NIT is getting funds from Urban Devpt Department, it will be able to carry out various development works, he stressed.

 

Mayor condemns Cabinet decision Dayashankar Tiwari, Mayor and senior leader of BJP, condemned the decision of the State Cabinet to reverse scrapping of NIT. According to Tiwari, the MVA Government’s decision would lead the citizens to bleak future. “Due to wrong style of working of NIT, number of unauthorised layouts had increased in city. Hence, the erstwhile BJP-led Government with Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister, had started the process of merger of NIT with NMC,” he said. He added that it was ‘sad’ to see the political parties that had resorted to agitations against NIT’s functioning had decided to revive NIT after coming to power in State.