NAGPUR: Municipal council towns around Nagpur, including Butibori, Digdoh, Kamptee, Katol, Wadi, and Saoner, are preparing for elections alongside other local bodies. While smaller than the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) in scale, these areas grapple with urban challenges similar to those within city limits—congested roads, unplanned housing, strained water supply, and overloaded civic infrastructure.
“These areas are fully urbanized, so their issues align directly with those of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). We aren’t addressing farm-related concerns here,” stated Sameer Meghe, MLA from Hingna, which includes several of these councils like Butibori, Wanadongri, and Wadi. He emphasized that voters are increasingly prioritizing planned development, improved drainage, and modern civic amenities over mere maintenance.
Recently, guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule shared updates on the Nagpur district’s developments, particularly focusing on the metro area’s growth. He announced the construction of an integrated transport hub to alleviate travel difficulties, stating, “The municipal corporation will provide transport services within a 20 km radius from the city center, while NMRDA will handle areas beyond that. We will introduce new buses linking to integrated transport hubs and coordinating with metro routes.”
Residents from the 15 municipal councils—including Butibori, Digdoh, Kalmeshwar-Brahmani, Kamptee, and others—expressed similar concerns.
“Our roads can barely accommodate two vehicles, yet new housing developments are approved monthly. The council permits plans without upgrading basic infrastructure,” remarked a Kamptee resident.
In Wadi and Wanadongri, industrial growth has surged the population density, with residents pinpointing traffic congestion and inadequate public transport as major issues. “We rely on private auto-rickshaws or two-wheelers because bus services are infrequent. We need an integrated transport plan that caters to our area and increases the bus fleet,” explained a student commuting daily to a city academy.
The primary difference between a municipal council (nagar parishad) and the NMC lies in their administrative frameworks and population sizes. Nagar parishads govern towns with populations between 25,000 and 300,000, while NMC oversees larger cities. However, rapid urbanization surrounding Nagpur has blurred these lines, leading many councils to tackle corporation-level challenges with limited budgets and staffing.
In areas like Butibori and Kalmeshwar-Brahmani, once small industrial zones, the discrepancy between civic planning and population growth is evident through chaotic commercial expansion and encroachments on public lands.
“New shops and warehouses are popping up on narrow internal roads. Without road widening and improved drainage, the area floods after heavy rains,” lamented a trader in Kalmeshwar.
