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A Village Burnt Overnight: Tears, Loss and Survival in Dhamangaon Blaze

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  Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
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Nagpur Municipal Corporation seeks Rs 6,320 crore aid from Finance Commission

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With tremendous increase in NMC’s responsibilities, its sources of revenue, recovery, new taxes had not increased

By Dheeraj Fartode
NMC
Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) general body, on Saturday, passed a proposal seeking special grants of a whopping Rs 6,320 crore from 4th Maharashtra State Finance Commission to boost developmental works in the city. Based on population census of 2011, the proposal seeks additional grant.
During discussion on the proposal, Mayor Prof Anil Sole said city’s total area was 217.56 sq km and population was 24.05 lakh as per 2011 census. Population of the city would increase with growth of five-star industrial area in Butibori, Multimodal International Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN), emerging markets, Metro Region development etc. NMC was bound to play more effective role in city’s development against this backdrop.

With tremendous increase in NMC’s responsibilities, its sources of revenue, recovery, new taxes had not increased. This strained NMC’s resources while meeting developmental needs of the city. Already, NMC had prepared plans for developmental works till the year 2016. There was a gap between present financial strength of NMC and its requirements, Sole said while stressing the need for filling this gap in accordance with recommendations of the Finance Commission. He listed out several works and aid required from 4th State Finance Commission.

NMC sought Rs 6,320 crore for various developmental works from 4th State Finance Commission. Of this, amount of Rs 3,765 crore was sought for construction of storm water drains, Rs 1,260 crore sought for treatment of entire waste water generated in the city, Rs 530 crore for rivers and lakes, Rs 345 crore for repairs and development of roads, Rs 270 crore for energy infrastructure, and Rs 150 crore for solid waste management. After giving details of the assistance sought from 4th State Finance Commission, Sole appealed the NMC general body to approve the demand.

Already, the proposal in this regard was approved by NMC Standing Committee on December 21, 2012. After approval of general body, the proposal would be sent to 4th State Finance Commission.
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