Metro takes over NMV Ground, does nothing for 8.5 yrs

Citizens demand Metro return the land to govt

Ashish Roy

Lokmat News Network - Nagpur

Government agencies often take large chunks of land for some noble purpose or the other but later find that they have piled up their plate with more than they can eat! A case in point is the wide expanse of NMV Ground opposite Yashwant Stadium in Dhantoli which has been under Maha Metro's possession for over 100 months or 8.5 years since April 2015 and is being used as a mere dumping ground.

We are talking about a neat 20,000 square metre of prime commercial land in the centre of the city which, if it were with a private party, would have been converted into a dazzling multi-purpose building and put to good use. But with a government backed agency which has its own box of daily woes to contend with, it is being treated like a family heirloom safely tucked away in a remote corner of a cupboard, sealed and forgotten.

The sad thing is that this piece of land has been stolen from children who used it as a playground for several decades. Karnewar Trouply cricket used to be played here, many football matches took place and Makar Sankranti saw kids flying kites from these grounds. The ground was a solid piece of green carpeted government land at one time and used daily by children for running, cycling, playing and just lolling around after a dreary school day.

People also used the ground for parking vehicles during the day. Then it was generously handed over to Maha Metro who came up with an ambitious plan of developing it to earn crores and promptly barricaded it. Out of the public eye, the ground has been converted into a slushy mosquito breeding dumping ground for storage by Metro's contractors. It isn't that the Metro napped after taking possession of the ground in April 2015. It did what it does best. It announced that it would construct a 25-storey commercial complex over Sitabuldi Metro Station and the parking for this building would be provided at NMV Ground. Then in 2018, Metro came up with another beautiful plan when it decided to construct two 25-storey towers on the ground itself. Later, it decided to construct three 19-storey towers. It also went ahead and changed the usage of the land and obtained all permissions for commercial use and mixed use. However, even after several changes and so much paperwork, the Metro has not been able to find any contractor for executing the project in 8.5 long years.

The Metro on its part has been trying to net a contractor as Maha Metro's spokesperson Akhilesh Halve, told Lokmat Times, "We had floated tenders on public-private partnership (PPP) basis wherein the bid was on the lower side against our expectations". The tender was subsequently cancelled. "Considering prevailing market conditions and the suggestions received from bidders in the pre-bid meeting and after making those relevant changes, we will float a tender again," he informed.

The truth remains that not a single piece of brick has been laid on the ground ever since it went the Metro's way! Residents are livid. West Nagpur MLA Vikas Thakre slammed Metro for snatching the ground from citizens and then doing nothing with it. “It is clear that Metro does not have the competence to handle such big real estate projects. It should return the ground to the government so that kids can once again play on it. If this is not done, Congress will launch an agitation,” he said.

Brand management guru, Dr. Sanjay Arora, whose office is located in Dhantoli, said that Metro should return the ground to the government and it should be developed as a proper playground or park for citizens. “Local kids have been deprived of the only playground in the area,” he added. Perhaps, that is best!