Nagpur: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday assured that the state govt would extend all necessary financial support for Nagpur’s planned development, saying the city is poised for rapid growth over the next decade and is steadily emerging as a global city due to large-scale infrastructure projects.At the same programme, Union minister Nitin Gadkari urged Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to become financially self-reliant by reducing expenditure, increasing revenue, and ensuring transparent, corruption-free governance instead of depending on the state govt for every requirement.Addressing a function organised by NMC to distribute appointment letters to newly recruited employees, Fadnavis said the city’s transformation was being driven by major infrastructure initiatives and cited a World Bank report projecting rapid growth for Nagpur over the next decade.
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The chief minister also said NMC has become the first municipal corporation in Maharashtra to provide free 300 sq ft houses to sanitation workers, with an option to obtain larger homes by paying the additional cost. During the programme, appointment letters were distributed to 476 sanitation workers regularised under the Lad-Page Committee recommendations and to 103 candidates recruited through direct recruitment.Addressing the gathering, Gadkari said the municipal corporation’s primary responsibility was to provide efficient civic services such as sanitation, road maintenance, drainage, and other essential amenities. To discharge these responsibilities effectively, he said, NMC must strengthen its finances by cutting unnecessary expenditure and creating additional sources of revenue.“Appointments are not in the hands of the municipal corporation. Permission from the state govt is required, and such decisions are taken after considering expenditure and revenue. Recruitment remained pending for several years because of these financial constraints. However, after Devendra Fadnavis became the chief minister, he made these appointments possible,” Gadkari said.He urged the newly appointed employees to work with honesty and uphold transparency while delivering efficient public services. Talking about NMC’s revenue potential, Gadkari cited the London Street project as an example of how civic assets can generate substantial income.“For the London Street project, we purchased land worth Rs2.5 crore. So far, the municipal corporation has earned nearly Rs500 crore from the project and is expected to earn over Rs1,500 crore in the coming years,” he said.He added that several new markets are being developed across the city, which would further strengthen the civic body’s finances and reduce its dependence on govt grants.The programme also marked the launch of WhatsApp-based ticketing for Aapli Bus, aimed at making public transport more convenient and citizen-friendly.
