NMC to offer plots for development

NAGPUR: Buoyed by the tremendous response last year, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has decided to offer more of its land for development through private players.Thanks to the NMC’s new policy, the city can expect more shopping malls, commercial complexes and health care facilities in its properties.The corporation has identified 28 properties for commercial development on a build-operate-transfer basis. The scheme to construct 10 malls, office complexes and hospitals on these civic properties has been proposed in the
current budget.

The plan to exploit vacant or unutilised municipal plots has earned big bucks for the corporation and the success has prompted the civic body to unlock more properties for commercial development.”This model is being adopted by other cities especially the ones in Gujarat,’outgoing commissioner Lokesh Chandra told TOI on Sunday. Chandra who will assume charge of additional divisional commissioner in Amravati will handover the charge to the new civic chief Sanjay Sethi on Monday.

Last year, the corporation approved a plan to lease out six of its properties at Danaganj, Jaripatka, Sitabuldi, Gokulpeth, Panchpaoli and Netaji Market to Unity Infrastructure for development of malls. This earned the civic body a whopping Rs 540 crore from the lease.While in some of the premises served as markets or shopping areas with hundreds of licence holders, other properties were vacant and unutilised. “We didn’t earn a single rupee out of them,’Chandra said.

Under Chandra, the municipal corporation began executing Rs 2,000 crore programme to upgrade the city infrastructure.Works worth Rs 1,200 crore have been sanctioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The Centre will share 50 per cent of the project while the state’s share of 20 per cent is being given as a loan.

The challenge before Sethi would be to raise funds and execute the projects sanctioned under the NURM. According to a civic observer, the corporation has been unable to substantially increase its income because it hasn’t diversified its income sources.

The corporation earns about 75 per cent of its revenue from octroi, property tax and water tax.Chandra, however, pointed out that the corporation can raise its revenue by improving recovery and pluging leakages.Apart from the commercial development of properties, the municipal corporation initiated a scheme of water metering and leak detection programme to cut water losses and increase revenue. “We have also assigned agencies to recover charges from users,’Chandra said.

The corporation raised Rs 21 crore from bonds last year and plans to float another one to raise revenue for its project. The Asian Development Bank too is willing to finance the civic water supply projects. “We can get Rs 700 crore for our infrastructure projects without a problem,’he stated.
SOurce: TOI

~ by nagpurestate on May 29, 2007.