Ex-corporators, poll aspirants claim decline in civic services, blame NMC
Nagpur: Former corporators and aspiring candidates have intensified their criticism of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) administration. They hold the absence of elected representation over the last three years responsible for the decline in civic services in the city.
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A day after MLC and former mayor Sandip Joshi flagged the worsening sanitation situation despite NMC having over 7,000 sanitation workers on its payroll, former corporators from across party lines echoed similar concerns. Many said the administrator-led system, in place since March 2022, failed to deliver basic civic services and created a governance vacuum.
Former NCP corporator Duneshwar Pethe alleged that development work in non-BJP areas was stalled or selectively cleared.
"Unless a file was pushed by someone influential in the BJP, it remained pending. Slum and peripheral areas were worst affected. Since the general body was dissolved, there's been no accountability. People had no voice," Pethe told TOI.
Abha Pande, a former independent corporator, said that citizens were left directionless. "Earlier, people could approach corporators even for minor issues. In the last three years, there's been no one to listen to them.
Officers are not answerable, and complaints related to sewer lines, garbage collection, and potholes remained pending. This is not how a city should function," she said.
Adding to the growing list of voices, Abhijit Jha, a first-time poll aspirant, alleged large-scale corruption during the administrator's tenure. "Public money was misused. Tenders were awarded without transparency. Key services like sewage repair and roadwork were not prioritised.
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There's a deep nexus between officials and contractors. A detailed probe will reveal the scale of misgovernance," he alleged.
Senior BJP leader and former corporator Vijay Zalke also admitted that the absence of elected representatives contributed to growing public anger. "Irrespective of the party in power, people always look to corporators first. For three years, the administrative system operated without ground-level feedback.
This disconnect has hurt the city. It's time an elected body returns so that governance becomes responsive again," he said.
All voices, regardless of political affiliation, stressed the urgency of reinstating an elected general body to restore public accountability. "Only corporators understand the pulse of their wards. Administrative rule may work in smaller towns, but Nagpur needs its local representatives back," Pande added.
While the state govt has recently initiated the ward redesign process—set to be carried out by a high-powered committee headed by the municipal commissioner—ex-corporators warn that any further delay in civic polls will only deepen public frustration. "The people of Nagpur deserve elected representatives and responsive governance. Civic polls must happen without delay," Pethe said.
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