Satishkumar Khadke, the commissioner of the Nashik Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (NMRDA), said the authority would soon take action against unauthorised constructions and encroachments in the region.NMRDA covers six tehsils, including Nashik and parts of Trimbakeshwar, Dindori, Niphad, Sinnar and Igatpuri.Khadke, who took over as the commissioner NMRDA, said the officials are preparing a development plan for the region to tackle haphazard construction.The NMRDA is expected to chalk out its development plan and focus on revenue generation or self-sustaining the organization. We will soon prepare a plan and send it to the state government, stressing good industrial and recreational zones,” said the officer.
Khadke, speaking about the authority’s measures against unauthorized constructions, said, “Such constructions have caused major loss of revenue to the state government. The NMRDA, thus, started issuing notices to the owners of unauthorized constructions to get the property regularized.”
The unauthorized constructions include houses, bungalows, farmhouses, industrial units, and marketplaces, among others.
As per a senior NMRDA officer, there are over 30,000 encroachments and unauthorized constructions across the region, and 2,000 of them have been notified. The process of identification of these encroachments is under way.
The official also said the process of seeking and receiving permissions is being simplified to encourage owners to regularize their constructions.
“All the unauthorized constructions and encroachments on the government land will be razed soon. We will start action at the earliest to curb haphazard development,” Khadke said.
The officer, talking about the development of industries in the region, said many businesspersons preferred the Nashik region because of the availability of land at cheaper rates, less operational cost and proximity and connectivity to Mumbai and Pune. “Many big industrial warehousing and logistics projects are setting up businesses in the NMRDA jurisdiction.”