Project named after ex-CM fails to take off even after a decade

Nagpur: Maharashtra celebrated the birth anniversary of former chief minister Vasantrao Naik on Thursday. However, a mega project announced by former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in 2011 to celebrate Naik’s birth centenary is still on paper. Due to apathy by successive governments, the project never took off despite Rs 20 crore being sanctioned for it.
The project is also referred to as a jinxed one by officials from the collectorate after it never saw the light of day as its location was changed from one place to another by political masters. After Chavan’s announcement, an auditorium was planned, but later, an amphitheater was added, and even impressive designs were prepared by former collector Ashwin Mudgal. However, the government again changed its area and the project remained on the paper till date.
TOI had been regularly tracking the project’s journey by reporting on how it was skittled out after being finalized at Nagpur University’s land adjacent to its new administrative block.
While paying homage to the former CM on Thursday, also celebrated as ‘Maharashtra Agriculture Day’, minister of state for public works Dattatraya Bharne directed the Nagpur Municipal Commissioner (NMC) Radhakrishnan B and collector Ravindra Thakare to provide land for the construction of an amphitheater as soon as possible.
The minister held a online review meeting from Mumbai that was attended by former MLA Haribhau Rathore, divisional commissioner Prajakta Lavangare, collector, general administration department (GAD) deputy secretary JG Valvi, Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) superintendent engineer Lila Upadhye and secretary Sankri Bhosle.
“The ex-CM has made a great contribution in Maharashtra’s formation. Long time has passed for the construction of the amphitheater proposed to be built on his birth centenary. The NMC chief and collector should personally pay attention and make efforts for land availability,” Bharne said.
When the project was initially announced by Chavan, it was actually an auditorium to be built in Naik’s memory in the city in 2011. Later, it was planned at Raj Bhavan, but locals moved the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court alleging loss of open space, after which it was dropped. The district administration then approached Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV) for land behind Mor Bhavan, but its executive council strongly opposed the proposal that further delayed the project.
Former CM Devendra Fadnavis had proposed it at NU’s land behind its campus in 2015 and also promised release of Rs 20 crore. After the opening of the Suresh Bhatt Hall, the city’s political masters decided to build an amphitheatre, which the city was lacking. NU was not even consulted while changing the plans and even the dates of groundbreaking ceremony was finalized on July 5, 2018. It was only after TOI highlighted the issue on June 15, 2018, edition that the government was forced to defer the ceremony and alter the design to accommodate the auditorium. Since then, the project is in limbo, as per the officials.
JINX STRUCTURE’S JOURNEY SO FAR...
* Ex-CM Prithviraj Chavan announced it in 2011 to celebrate Naik’s birth centenary year
* Earlier, it was planned at Raj Bhavan, but nearby residents opposed it alleging loss of open space
* They moved Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court after which the plan was dropped
* Later, the dist administration approached PDKV for land behind Mor Bhavan, but its executive council opposed it
* Ex-CM Devendra Fadnavis in September 2015 announced that project would come up on NU land
* Fadnavis also declared that Rs20 crore allocated would be released
* The then collector Ashwin Mudgal finalized designs for a 10,000 capacity amphitheatre
* It was also supposed to accommodate a 2,000 capacity auditorium-cum-convocation hall for NU
* In 2021, govt decides to shift mega structure to another place citing space crunch at NU
* A decade later, the project is still on paper