474 plot owners face high charges for NIT’s goof-up

Nagpur: Total 474 plot owners in Amar Nagar and Vithal Nagar-2 in South Nagpur are facing high development charges due to Nagpur Improvement Trust’s (NIT) goof-up. Deputy leader of opposition in legislative assembly Vijay Wadettiwar has warned of an agitation, and will also raise NIT’s anti-public move in the upcoming monsoon session of the state legislature.
Wadettiwar, along with Youth Congress president Bunty Shelke, activists and residents of Amar Nagar and Vithal Nagar met collector and NIT chairman Sachin Kurve on Friday. “NIT is a government agency and cannot discriminate among citizens. NIT levied unjustified development charges on residents of Amar Nagar and Vithal Nagar-2. The development charges should be reduced,” he said.
Shelke told TOI that people from financially weak families reside in Amar Nagar and Vithal Nagar situated in Mhalgi Nagar Ward and re in deep trouble due to NIT’s high development charges. “Government and NIT are for public welfare and not to earn revenue from poor people. We will stage agitations in case NIT fails to give relief to citizens.”
One of the 474 plot owners, Sameer Kale, said NIT demanded development charges of Rs56 per sq ft from them. “Reservation of ring railway’s buffer zone was on our 474 plots. Government launched Gunthewari Act in 2001. We had submitted an application with NIT and also paid Rs1,000 for regularization in 2002. There are other areas also in buffer zone, including Saraswati Nagar, New Amar Nagar, Gurukunj Nagar etc. But NIT recovered development charges of only Rs16 per sq ft and regularized all plots in these areas in 2007. Our plots were not regularized due to NIT’s goof-up. Finally, the government regularized out plots in January. Now, NIT has issued demand notes seeking development charges of Rs56 per sq ft from us. This is an injustice towards us,” he said.
Shelke said Kurve assured to revise development charges if the rules allow him to do so, or he will send a proposal to the government. “NIT should levy only Rs16 per sq ft,” Shelke said.