“Nagpur is the first city in the country to generate revenue from treated sewage water,” declared Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to thunderous applause at a campaign rally organised at Tiranga Square on Tuesday. Addressing a mahasabha ahead of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) elections, the Chief Minister urged voters to back the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), asserting that Nagpur’s development momentum would not only continue but accelerate in the coming years. CM Fadnavis was accompanied by ex-MLC Nago Ganar, City BJP President Dayashankar Tiwari, MLA Mohan Mate, MLC Krupal Tumane, MLA Krishna Khopde and many other candidates on the stage from Prabhags of South Nagpur. This was Fadnavis’ second campaign rally after the first one in Borkhed, and the next one will be in Trimurti Nagar.

 

Strongly defending the State Government’s ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’, Fadnavis said the scheme would continue and be upgraded further. “Our aim is to transform Ladki Bahins into Lakhpati Didis in the coming year,” he said, signalling enhanced economic empowerment for women. Fadnavis said development work on all major lakes in Nagpur was ongoing, adding that sustained investment had helped improve the city’s environment and quality of life. Expressing satisfaction with civic governance, he remarked, “I am happy with the way my corporators have been working and with how this city is shaping up.”

 

On the healthcare front, the Chief Minister said Rs 700 crore had been sanctioned for the Government Medical College, resulting in operation theatres being upgraded with the latest technology. He also announced that a dedicated cancer hospital was under development in the city. Referring to the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, Fadnavis said the scheme was performing well, allowing ration card holders to avail free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. He added that the Government would soon expand the cover, with nine major procedures, costing between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 35 lakh, set to be provided entirely free.

 

Highlighting Nagpur’s emergence as an education hub, Fadnavis said institutions such as AIIMS Nagpur, Indian Institute of Management Nagpur and Indian Institute of Information Technology Nagpur had ensured world-class education within the city, eliminating the need for students to migrate elsewhere. He said the Samruddhi Mahamarg had transformed Nagpur into a major business cluster, while large-scale solar module and solar cell manufacturing was underway, expected to generate over one lakh jobs. Fadnavis also claimed that the presence of leading global IT companies had further strengthened the city’s economic base. Concluding his address, the Chief Minister appealed to citizens to vote for the BJP–Shiv Sena (Shinde) alliance in the NMC polls scheduled for January 15.