NAGPUR : After 20 month long exercise, the Nagpur Municipal
Corporation (NMC) has finalized the new city development plan (CDP) estimating
the projected population and area growth of the city by the year 2041. The CDP
will be submitted with the central government seeking approval of developmental
projects worth a whopping Rs 34,604 crore.
The NMC projects department has finalized the CDP and tabled
it before the general body. Mayor Pravin Datke has convened meeting of general
body on May 18. It will discuss the CDP and is expected to approve it. NMC had
prepared the first CDP in 2006 and submitted to the Centre. Accordingly, the
central government had approved developmental projects worth Rs 1,500 crore
under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) between 2007 and
2009. Through a letter dated August 6, 2013, the Centre had revealed its plan
to launch phase-II of JNNURM and asked the NMC to prepare a new CDP.
Accordingly, the civic body began preparing the revised CDP.
Though the new BJP-led government in the Centre had
announced discontinuation of JNNURM, the new CDP would be submitted under the
proposed Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). Under
JNNURM, NMC had focused on developmental projects related to improvement in
water, traffic and city bus service. The new CDP covers many more other
sectors. Total 12 sectors have been incorporated in the new CDP. Major stress
is given on urban roads, traffic and transportation aiming at more flyovers,
railway overbridges, wider roads, new fleet of city buses and bus rapid transit
system (BRTS). The other sectors covered are water, sewage and sanitation,
storm water drains, solid waste management, slum housing, heritage development,
tourism development, urban governance, social infrastructure, urban environment
and disaster management.
The new CDP will be implemented in two parts. A majority of
works have been proposed in short term plan upto 2012 and remaining in long
term plan from 2012 to 2041. The development projects worth Rs 27,350 crore are
proposed under the short term plan while remaining projects worth Rs 7,253
crore are under the long term plan.
The NMC is reeling under severe financial crisis and finding
it difficult to even meet its daily operation and maintenance costs. The civic
body has been able to develop the city and improve infrastructure only through
funds received from the state and central governments. Therefore, the new CDP
means a lot for the city's overall development and for meeting future
requirements.
The general body will also discuss and decide the fate of
proposal seeking division of property tax department into two parts. Following
no improvement in revenue from property tax department, NMC had studied the
administrative pattern of Pune Municipal Corporation. Accordingly, the proposal
is to have two separate departments, one for property tax recovery and other
for assessment. The new administrative set up is likely to increase the revenue
with improvement in recovery of tax and assessment of new properties followed
by revaluation of existing properties.
Source: The Economics Times
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