Heated exchanges take NMC GB meeting to record 4th day

Nagpur: Nagpur Municipal Corporation general body meeting, that began on June 20 after a gap of three months due to lockdown, will continue on Thursday, making it a record four-day sitting. Even after two days and nine hours of discussion on the adjournment motion, the meeting remained inconclusive. A decision on the motion will be taken on Thursday.
This is the first time in NMC history that a meeting has gone on for so long, said seven-time corporator Sunil Agrawal. He said in the past house continued at the most for two days and that too for discussion on budget.
On Wednesday, the House witnessed three corporators -- two from Congress and one from Shiv Sena -- speaking in support of municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, while others including those from Congress, BSP and BJP expressed anguish over civic chief allegedly ignoring the elected representatives.
Most corporators squarely blamed the commissioner for projecting an image of corporators as corrupt, hooligans and uneducated. “We are concerned about the city. Urgent work must be done. Nothing has been done for three months,” BJP corporators said.
Wednesday’s proceedings began with senior Congress corporator Praful Gudadhe objecting to allowing continuation of discussions on adjournment motion. NMC secretary Ranjana Lade informed the House that as per law, the House cannot hold discussions on adjournment motions on second day. It needs to end on the same day it started.
Congress corporator Sandip Sahare asked the House what wrong did the party corporator Nitin Sathawane do that forced the NMC to file a police complaint against him that needs to be inquired. He asked if the commissioner had inquired into it.
“Assistant municipal commissioner of Satranjipura zone Vijay Humne, who had lodged the FIR, was himself facing cases of alleged irregularities and in tubes and tyres purchase. He was also facing an inquiry in petrol and diesel scam and was shunted out when he was posted in education department too following some allegations,” Sahare said.
“Similarly, deputy chief medical officer Dr Praveen Gantawar (who too had given misleading information pertaining to containment zone in Satranjipura against Sathawane) and his wife, both serving in NMC’s health department (medicine) are also running a private clinic in Dhantoli,” he said. He demanded inquiry against the three and their suspension.
BJP corporator Bunty Kukde said the mayor should seek legal opinion to allow corporators to file police complaint against officials if any citizen suffered due to potholes. If raising citizens’ issues like Sathawane did was a crime then either put all the corporators in jail or ask them to resign, he said. Kukde also warned he would erect banners if the municipal commissioner failed to address civic issues.
Demanding unconditional apology from Mundhe, Congress corporator Ramesh Punekar said that the biryani party story in Naik Talao-Bangladesh cooked up by the civic chief had tarnished the image of the locality. “I along with former deputy mayor Deepraj Pardikar visited the locality for four days and found no such party had taken place,” said Punekar. “Had he been sent to Nagpur city to harm elected corporators,” he asked.
Congress corporators Kamlesh Choudhary, Bunty Shelke and SS corporator Kishore Kumeriya spoke in favour of Mundhe. Choudhary ridiculed the decision of the ruling BJP to hold the meeting when the city was seeing a spike in coronavirus cases. Shelke said it was unreasonable to blame the civic chief for so-called no development in his short tenure in NMC.
Harish Gwalbanshi said the NMC’s move to change user of shopping mall and converting it into Covid hospital will set a wrong precedent. “Whether the NMC will allow converting such malls into hospitals,” he asked.
Virendra Kukreja revealed that roof of quarantine centre being created on Radha Soami Satsang’s premises was leaking. BJP corporator Dharampal Meshram wondered how the Congress party leader Tanaji Wanve took a U-turn now when he was sharing similar opinion with the ruling party against Mundhe.
Sathawane gets show cause notice
Leader of opposition Tanaji Wanve issued a show-cause notice to Congress corporator Nitin Sathawane for submitting adjournment motion against municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe. However, Sathawane had submitted the adjournment motion against Mundhe after the latter’s directives as FIR had been filed against him at Lakadganj police station.
Confirming this, Wanve said on June 22 he gave the notice to Sathawane and said he did this following directive from MPCC president and revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, who had expressed his displeasure over the adjournment motion. “As per Thorat's order, Sathawane had been asked to withdraw the motion. But as he failed, I gave him the notice and sought his reply,” said Wanve.