Already under fire for the floods on September 23, 2023, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) finds itself in deeper trouble following the Ambazari flood debacle, as the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court prepares to deliver another blow. This time, the NMC seeks to rectify a mistake made in court regarding the location of the Swami Vivekananda statue. In a recent application for modification/recall of an order, the NMC admitted to erroneously stating that the statue stood in the ‘No Development Zone’ (Agriculture Zone) rather than the ‘Recreational Zone’. This misinformation, initially conveyed during a hearing on May 3, resulted in a stern response from Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Abhay Mantri, who demanded accountability for the illegal construction. It should be noted that during the last hearing, NMC informed the court that the statue was erected on land designated as a ‘No Development Zone’. The court took a firm stance and issued an order to the Additional Commissioner of the NMC to file an affidavit by May 7, initiating an inquiry to reveal the officers responsible for authorising the unlawful construction of the statue in the ‘No Development Zone’. The court underlined in its order, “Such construction in the no development zone is carried out in flagrant violation of the development control regulation.”

 

Following the High Court’s order, NMC officials conveyed in the Civil Application that the statement regarding the statue’s location in the ‘No Development Zone’ was made based on instructions from the Deputy Director of Town Planning. This information was endorsed by Additional Commissioner Anchal Goel, who relied on the Deputy Director’s statement. Realising the major error in the guidance provided to NMC’s counsel, the Deputy Director of the Town Planning Department took initiative. A meeting was convened on May 5, involving not only the Town Planning Department but also the Project Department and the Water Works Department of NMC. During this meeting, verification of the records pertaining to the construction of the statue was conducted. It was determined that the construction had indeed taken place in 2016, as stated in the NMC’s application.