Latest news with #AbhijeetChaudhari
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
Smart City's optical fibre network declared ‘essential public service'
Nagpur: To curb the growing disruptions in the city's CCTV surveillance network, Nagpur Municipal Corporation administrator Abhijeet Chaudhari has directed all development agencies to treat the Smart City 's optical fibre network as an 'essential public service'. He emphasised that prior intimation and clearance must be sought before undertaking any excavation work that could potentially damage the network. The directive was issued during a workshop organised by Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited (NSSCDCL) on Friday. The meeting, held at Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Hall, aimed to address the recurring issues of fibre cable damage caused during civic and infrastructure development works by multiple govt agencies. Chaudhari stated that over 3,600 CCTV cameras were installed at around 700 junctions under the 'Nagpur Safe and Smart City' project, and the fibre network supporting them is critical for maintaining law and order, especially during the monsoon. However, careless digging has led to frequent disruptions. To prevent this, the NSSCDCL drafted a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which mandates that any agency planning excavation must first seek clearance from Smart City. A Smart City officer will then inspect the site and ensure that fibre cables remain unharmed. Speaking to TOI, a senior official familiar with the SOP explained, "Agencies have been blindly digging, damaging our cables. Now, before any excavation, they must approach Smart City. Our officer will supervise the location to prevent damage." The commissioner also highlighted that some departments have yet to submit their security deposits to restore the damaged fibre lines. A dedicated agency has been appointed to handle restoration work on behalf of Smart City, and all excavation must now be done only after consulting this team. Key officials from MSEDCL, BSNL, MahaMetro, zilla parishad, and MSRDC were present at the workshop. A senior Smart City official also shared technical insights, noting that damaged cameras affect both NMC and Nagpur police operations. The SOP will now be uniformly applicable to all city-level development works.
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
NMC Digging Ban Junked, Roads Battered All Around
Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation's (NMC) ban on road digging after May 31 has turned into a farce as unauthorised excavation continues across the city. NMC's water works department reported digging at at least 18 locations in city, openly defying municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari's directive. Despite clear instructions to all departments and contractors not to undertake any trenching during the monsoon, civic officials failed to enforce the order, leaving citizens to suffer through crumbling roads, traffic snarls, and unsafe commuting conditions. Chaudhari not only barred digging after May 31 but also ordered restoration of previously excavated roads before the onset of rains. He warned of criminal action and penalties against violators. However, multiple agencies — ranging from utility firms to private contractors — carried on excavation work, particularly for cable laying and infrastructure upgrades, many without permission from the NMC's public works department. Nowhere is this failure more evident than in areas under Mangalwari zone. Near Old Katol Naka Square, for instance, the road remains half-cut and dangerously uneven. Despite being aware of at least two such violations, the zone officials have not acted. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Perdagangkan CFD Emas dengan Broker Tepercaya IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Across the city, the situation is no better. Deep trenches at many locations are left unbarricaded, and patchwork left unfinished has turned the stretch into a hazard for two-wheeler riders and pedestrians. Residents report frequent near-miss accidents and daily inconveniences, especially during peak traffic hours. Many key stretches have been dug up and abandoned, with debris dumped by the roadside. In several locations, construction mud and loose gravel lie scattered, adding to the danger with the monsoon approaching. Though some pipeline and power supply damage occurred due to this careless work, the civic body's bigger failure is in not restoring roads and ensuring accountability. Even large projects like AMRUT 2.0 and private cable laying are being carried out without adhering to post-digging restoration norms. Mounds of debris are left unattended for days, further clogging the already narrow roads. OCW, the city's water operator, reported 17 incidents in June where their pipelines were damaged due to such illegal roadwork and has sought action against contractors. While the NMC claims to have lodged FIRs against at least three contractors in connection with damages, there's no visible deterrence on the ground. The commissioner's own order to hold errant officials accountable for failing to stop illegal digging remains largely unimplemented. Even Chaudhari, during his visit to the Hanuman Nagar zone office, was appraised by the ex-corporators that despite levying a Rs1 crore fine on contractors entrusted to carry out sewerage network works under the Amrut 2.0 project, the dug-up roads were still not restored. This shows the casual approach of the NMC's PWD engineers to implement the civic chief's diktat.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Monsoon arriving, NMC starts deep-cleaning drive
Nagpur: In a pre-monsoon offensive to clean up Nagpur, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) launched a zonal-level deep cleaning campaign targeting accumulated debris, silt-filled drains, and clogged chambers. Under the directives of municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari, additional commissioner Vasumana Pant is personally overseeing the drive's implementation across the city. The civic body expanded its routine 'Ek Tarikh Ek Ghanta' campaign — conducted on the first day of every month — into a more intensive operation in light of the poor pre-monsoon condition of several neighbourhoods. Starting Thursday, each zone began executing targeted deep cleaning drives with special focus on construction and demolition debris and clogged drains, which have been blamed for waterlogging and unhygienic conditions during past monsoons. The campaign already covered multiple localities including Narendra Nagar and Suyog Nagar. In Zone 7, intensive cleaning was carried out in Prem Nagar, Kiradpura, Dalalpura, and Jagruti Nagar. Zone 4 teams worked across Prabhag 35 including Suyog Nagar, Shri Nagar, Dhadhiwal Layout, Narendra Nagar, and Manish Nagar near the railway crossing. Likewise, in Dhantoli zone, garbage and debris were cleared from roads near Chhoti Dhantoli, Dhantoli Police Station, Sitabuldi Police Station, Amravati Road, and Shankar Nagar. Nullah desilting and sewer line flushing were conducted across Sakat Nagar, Ramai Garden, Hiwri Nagar, Deshpande Layout, Kumbhar Toli, Datta Nagar, Babulban, Shende Nagar, Ambedkar Colony, Kalpana Nagar, Ramai Nagar, Saibaba Colony, Sant Dnyaneshwar Society, and Radhakrishna Nagar. The campaign resulted in significant visible improvement, with several residents expressing appreciation for the cleaner surroundings. Citizens have also welcomed the NMC's efforts to raise awareness about cleanliness, with officials urging the public to recognise their civic responsibility and actively contribute to keeping their neighbourhoods clean.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Chaudhari orders action against negligent contractors in Hanuman Nagar zone
Nagpur: Municipal Commissioner and administrator Abhijeet Chaudhari directed strict punitive action against contractors showing negligence in ongoing development works across Hanuman Nagar zone. During a zonal review meeting held on Thursday, Chaudhari also instructed officials to issue notices to owners of vacant plots left in unhygienic conditions. The visit followed instructions from guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule to assess pre-monsoon preparedness. Chaudhari inspected Hanuman Nagar zone office and later interacted with former corporators and citizens who raised issues from areas like Nimkar Nagar, Shahu Nagar, Ramteke Nagar, Ayodhya Nagar, and other localities. Complaints ranged from incomplete road repairs to delays in drain and nullah cleaning. Expressing displeasure over roads dug up under Amrut 2.0 scheme and not yet restored, Chaudhari asked for immediate repairs and instructed that essential monsoon-related works — including damaged sewer lines — be completed on priority. The commissioner also visited the under-construction water purification plant at New Narsala under the Smart City project and ordered the speedy completion of pending STP works. Additional commissioners Vasumana Pant and Vaishnavi B, Chief Engineer Manoj Talewar, and other senior officials were present. A memorandum on pre-monsoon work delays was submitted on behalf of MLA Mohan Mate.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Draft DP: City Expands, Areas Under Other Bodies Kept Out
1 2 Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has started the process to draft a new and comprehensive revised development plan (DP) for the city after nearly 25 years, setting in motion a long-pending exercise to guide urban development over the next two decades. The new DP — being prepared under Sections 23(1), 34, and 38 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966 — will replace the earlier plan prepared in 2000 by the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) and though revisions are legally required every 20 years, the process was delayed until now. While the civic body has finalised the extended municipal boundaries, several key areas — including parts of east Nagpur, areas under MADC and Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited — have been left out of the proposed plan due to overlapping jurisdiction with other authorities. NMC moved ahead following state govt's directives under Section 154 of the MRTP Act in 2018 but the action was inordinately delayed. This directive required the civic body to prepare a unified DP for both the old municipal limits and newly merged villages. Accordingly, NMC completed the task of demarcating boundaries for the proposed development area, which now stretches across more than 22,700ha. However, in this newly demarcated plan, large tracts of east Nagpur — including Bharatwada, Punapur, Pardi, and Bhandewadi — have been excluded due to their inclusion under Smart City planning zones. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 임플란트 29만원 이벤트 임플란트 더 알아보기 Undo These areas, covering nearly 689ha, fall under the jurisdiction of Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Ltd (NSSCDCL), a special planning authority, stated a notification issued by municipal commissioner and administrator Abhijeet Chaudhari. Similarly, land parcels associated with Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd and the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) for the Mihan project have also been kept out of the DP's purview. Notable areas like Jaitala, Bhamti, and various Metro station precincts in Ajni, Ambazari, Dhantoli, Sitabuldi, and others too have been excluded. The DP thus focuses only on regions where NMC is the sole planning authority. Notably, Hudkeshwar (Budruk) and Narsala, which were merged into the city limits in 2013, have now been included in the new plan and found no mention in NIT's 2001 DP. The current revised plan now considers increased urbanisation and projected population growth for the next 20 years. Reservations for civic amenities such as parks, schools, roads, cultural centres, overhead water tanks, and playgrounds will be marked accordingly in the proposed layout. Once finalised, a complete map of these reservations and proposed developments will be published for public review. As per statutory provisions, citizens, organisations, and stakeholders will be invited to submit objections or suggestions on the draft DP within 60 days of its notification. Maps for public inspection will be made available at the NMC headquarters, the office of the Deputy Director of Town Planning (Special Unit), and the NIT office, and also online at Public hearings will then be conducted to consider the feedback received. Once all objections are evaluated and necessary changes made, the final DP will be tabled before the NMC's general body for approval. After the civic body's nod, the DP will be forwarded to the state govt for final sanction. However, sources indicate the entire process — from marking reservations to incorporating citizen feedback and receiving final approvals — could take an additional two years. Through this revised GIS-based DP, NMC aims to establish a structured roadmap for sustainable urban expansion while addressing challenges posed by overlapping authorities and evolving infrastructure demands in a rapidly growing city.
