Mayor Rolls Back Zone Expansion Order After Opposition Uproar Nagpur: The city’s mayor, Neeta Thakre, withdrew a controversial proposal to expand Nagpur’s administrative zones from 10 to 12 after facing intense opposition from political parties and civic leaders. The decision came amid a heated debate in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) General Body meeting, where the plan to restructure the city’s administrative divisions was met with widespread resistance. The controversy began when BJP corporator Sudhir Raut questioned the adequacy of the existing 10-zone structure, arguing that the city’s population and geographical spread had grown significantly since the zones were established in 2002. He emphasized that smaller administrative jurisdictions could improve civic governance, expedite grievance redressal, and enhance oversight of development projects. However, the proposal faced immediate pushback over the NMC’s manpower shortage. Leader of Opposition Sanjay Mahakalkar accused the ruling party of rushing the move and demanded the proposal be postponed until the civic body addressed its staffing crisis. Other Congress corporators alleged the restructuring was politically motivated, aiming to remove Opposition members from existing zone committees. IUML corporator Aslam Khan highlighted the disparity between workload and staffing, citing Ashi Nagar Zone as an example. This zone, which covers four prabhags, had only one junior engineer, raising concerns about operational efficiency. The debate escalated into a heated exchange between ruling and opposition members, with BJP corporators and Opposition corporators clashing in the House. BJP members raised slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” while Opposition members responded with “Jai Samvidhan.#nagpur #sanjay_mahakalkar #neeta_thakre #nmc_general_body #sudhir_raut
