In one-yr, only 49 of 1,445 illegal shrines removed

Nagpur: On May 18, 2016, a dargah on the footpath opposite CTO in Civil Lines was removed under Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s drive against illegal religious structures across the city. A year later, the dargah reappeared at the same place in Dharampeth zone, exposing the lackadaisical attitude of NMC. With no action from the NMC, land grabbers are having a free run.
Against the 1,504 identified illegal structures, the NMC has so far removed only 49 across the city. Given this, the NMC could court trouble in the form of contempt proceeding for ignoring high court’s directives to remove illegal religious structures from roads, footpaths and other public spaces.
A day ago, Dharampeth zone’s assistant municipal commissioner Rajesh Karade was suspended for ignoring orders to remove an illegal pandal erected in middle of the road in front of Meetha Neem Dargah in Civil Lines. The high court had warned the civic and police chiefs of arrest in the case.
Instead of following HC's strictures to not to allow any illegal constructions on roads and footpaths, the NMC's zone office had turned a blind eye towards erection of the pandal near its headquarters and even neglected prompt complaint by the city police.
NMC records say that there are 1,521 structures of religious importance and they are major impediments to the movement of traffic. A majority of them are not in the old areas. The civic body, however, after conducting public hearings, regularized 17 structures constructed before 1960 and decided to demolish or remove or shift 1,504 structures.
During the survey of religious structures in corporation limits, the NMC learnt that 553 such structures had come up on its land. Besides NMC, there are 564 structures on NIT land, 92 on plots belonging to nazul department, 28 on agriculture college properties, 22 on PWD-owned land and 186 on private lands.
However, in the last one year after the drive was launched in May 2015, the NMC had only succeeded in removing 49 structures and shifted four structures, confirmed a senior NMC officer. The NMC has also identified six more structures to be relocated.
The presence of 1,445 illegal structures notwithstanding more such places of worship continue to come up.
The deadline for removing the illegal structures constructed before 2009 is October 2016, which leaves the NMC with only three months to go. The post-2009 structures will have to be removed by October 2017, said a senior NMC officer requesting anonymity.
“Attempts by NMC to remove illegal structures situated on roads and pavements are resisted and all sorts of vested interests enter the scene,” he said and in order to maintain law and order, the civic body is going slow, he explained.
Despite several Supreme Court and high court orders against encroachments, there is no respite from such religious structures. As the NMC is going very slow, Nagpurians have been enduring the severe problem caused by unauthorized places of worship for a long time.