Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has lost yet another sprawling reserved land as it was not acquired within 10 years from implementation of city’s development plan (DP). The latest loss is of 9,761.47 sq ft (907.20 sq mt) reserved for Town Hall at Raj Nagar, Chhaoni.
The state’s urban development department (UDD) on July 9 issued a notification deleting the reservation. The UDD has cited order of Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court behind deleting the reservation.
As per details in the notification, reservation of town hall is on land bearing khasra no. 75/3 in Mouza Jaripatka for a total area of 66,109.44 sq.ft (6,144 sq.mt). Of this, 9,761.47 sq.ft was nazul land and owned by the state government. The district administration had leased out the land to some persons.
City’s revised DP had come into effect from March 1, 2000. It was mandatory for the NMC to acquire the reserved land within 10 years from implementation of the DP.
The lessee had served purchase notice to the NMC on April 4, 2012, which the NMC rejected. The lessee then filed writ petition in the high court. Through its order dated April 22, 2015, the HC upheld that the said reservation to the extent of the said land stands lapsed as per the provisions of section 127 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act.
The UDD said, “Considering the ownership of the said land as well as HC’s direction, the government is of opinion that it is necessary to delete the said land from reservation and include it in residential zone as per provisions of section 37 (1AA) of MRTP Act.”
TOI had carried a series of stories related to the reserved land between 2012 and 2014. In 2013, the then corporator Dr Prashant Chopra had strongly opposed the proposal to delete reservation and even submitted resignation. But the NMC did not accept the resignation and assured to acquire the land.
In February, the NMC had lost sprawling 87,156 sq.ft land (nearly two acres) reserved for truck terminal on Koradi road by not acquiring it even after notice by the owner.
As per the NMC’s data, there were 891 reserved lands in DP. Of them, 202 were reserved for the NMC. Unfortunately, the civic body acquired only 47 lands that too when the owners served purchase notices. Many of the reservations have been deleted.
