Nagpur: The Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) has come under fire for allegedly neglecting the regularization of unauthorized plots owned by poor citizens, while bending rules to benefit builders and corporate companies. The trust has been implicated in an ₹80 crore auction scam involving major builder-corporate collusion. West Nagpur MLA and President of the Nagpur City Congress Committee, Vikas Thakre, has demanded that NIT stop working solely for the benefit of builders and corporates and focus on providing services to common citizens.
In a letter to the NIT, Thakre called for the cancellation of the auction and the reclamation of three plots.
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Saturday 28 Sept. 2024
According to Thakre, “The Maha Vikas Aghadi government launched the Gutehwari 2.0 scheme on March 12, 2021, to regularize unauthorized plots up to December 31, 2020. Over 100,000 applications were submitted, each with a fee of ₹3,000. However, less than 5,000 plots were regularized. NIT is demanding registered sales deeds, which is against the Gutehwari Act and the Mumbai High Court’s orders. Simultaneously, NIT has twisted its own rules to benefit a specific builder and corporate company,” Thakre stated.
The auction in question was meant for restaurants, lodging, and food courts, but construction permits were granted for multi-story residential-commercial complexes:
The Maharashtra government approved an industrial plan for Mauja Chikhli (Devashtan) on March 3, 1967, to promote industrialization. NIT acquired land from Nagpur residents for this purpose and retained several plots for years. On March 25, 2022, three plots were auctioned. These plots are located near the inner ring road, Kalamna Wholesale Market, and the Kalamna Railway Overbridge. Plot No. 384 (1,440 square meters) was auctioned for commercial use, with a corporate company bidding a premium of ₹5,28,62,400 at ₹36,710 per square meter. Plot No. 385 (1,080 square meters) was auctioned for a hotel/restaurant, with the same company offering a premium of ₹2,72,26,800 at ₹25,210 per square meter. Plot No. 386 (2,125.420 square meters) was auctioned for a restaurant/food court/lodging, with the company bidding a premium of ₹7,44,10,954 at ₹35,010 per square meter. The average premium price for the three plots came to ₹32,310 per square meter, equating to ₹3,002.79 per square foot.
The pricing of these plots for hotels, restaurants, lodging, and food courts was significantly lower than that of residential and commercial plots, indicating that NIT conducted the auction at lower rates. NIT issued allotment letters for these plots on September 23, 2022, with conditions binding on both NIT and the company until October 3, 2052.
However, NIT’s East Division treated the three separate plots as one, approving a building plan for a 26-story structure on February 2, 2024, for mixed residential and commercial use. Of the total area, 90% is designated for residential use and the remaining 10% for commercial purposes. NIT officials have violated the auction conditions.
The builder, in collaboration with the corporate company, is selling 1,276 square foot flats at ₹1 crore each, translating to ₹8,000 per square foot. NIT’s approval for residential use on these plots is highly irregular and points to significant misconduct.
This case, involving an ₹80 crore scam, undermines the purpose of the auction and exposes a major breach of protocol within NIT.
