NAGPUR: Following years of judicial scrutiny and administrative inaction, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has initiated the demolition of unauthorized structures in two notable buildings — one located opposite the Vidhan Bhavan in Civil Lines and the other in Sadar. This decision follows pointed remarks from the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court.
During a court hearing on Thursday, the NMC, represented by counsel Jemini Kasat, announced that it had issued notices to the building owners, mandating the removal of illegal constructions within 15 days. Should they fail to comply, the NMC will proceed with demolition on the 16th day and recover the costs from the owners.
These directives stemmed from a petition filed by Vijay Babhre, which highlighted extensive illegal construction and ongoing administrative negligence.
A division bench consisting of Justices Anil Pansare and Nivedita Mehta previously expressed dissatisfaction regarding the lack of action taken over nearly 11 years, despite clear evidence of significant unauthorized portions of the buildings. The judges criticized this delay as “serious” and unjustifiable.
The High Court had mandated the civic body to reach a decisive conclusion per legal guidelines by January 21. Consequently, the NMC issued a demolition notice on January 13 for the Civil Lines building opposite Vidhan Bhavan, citing unauthorized constructions totaling over 510 square meters, including various violations on basement and upper floors.
In the Sadar building, the NMC identified multiple violations: a 1,298-square-meter parking area, over 1,494 square meters built outside the property boundary, and an additional structure exceeding the legally allowable height by 3 meters.
The petition pointed out that the high-rise opposite Vidhan Bhavan has been under scrutiny since 2016 due to serious construction irregularities. The petitioner also raised security issues, arguing that the building’s height and location could pose risks to sensitive establishments like the Vidhan Bhavan and the Reserve Bank of India.
In an affidavit, the NMC detailed the case’s history dating back to 2004, when it issued a notice under Section 53 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, declaring the seventh floor of the Civil Lines building unauthorized. The matter eventually reached the Supreme Court, which resolved it on November 27, 2015.
