Nashik Municipal Corporation has approved Rs 19.66 crore to acquire 4.71 hectares of private land in Pathardi for expanding the city’s solid waste management facility ahead of next year’s Simhastha Kumbh Mela.
The civic body’s standing committee cleared the proposal at its meeting on Thursday, allowing the municipal corporation to deposit the remaining compensation amount and move the land acquisition process forward. The expansion is intended to strengthen Nashik’s waste-management capacity before the mega religious gathering, when the city is expected to handle a significant increase in garbage generation.
The land, measuring around 47,100 square metres, has already been reserved for expansion of the solid waste management project under the sanctioned development plan. The total compensation award for the acquisition has been fixed at Rs 24.42 crore.
NMC had earlier deposited Rs 4.76 crore with the district collectorate’s land acquisition department. This amount represented 30% of the estimated compensation. The remaining Rs 19.66 crore was required to continue the acquisition process.
The town planning department subsequently placed a proposal before the standing committee seeking approval for the balance amount. With the proposal now sanctioned, the civic body can deposit the outstanding compensation and proceed with acquiring the Pathardi land.
The decision comes as Nashik prepares for the Simhastha Kumbh Mela, which is scheduled to bring a large number of visitors and temporary population flows to the city. The municipal corporation’s immediate infrastructure task is to ensure that the additional waste generated during the gathering can be collected, processed and managed through an expanded facility.
The approval also highlights the administrative steps required before civic infrastructure can be expanded. Although the land had been reserved in the development plan, NMC still needed to complete the compensation process and secure the remaining funds through a standing committee decision. The sanctioned amount therefore enables the next stage of acquisition rather than representing the completion of the facility expansion.
The municipal corporation’s next step is to deposit the remaining compensation with the district collectorate’s land acquisition department and proceed with the acquisition of the reserved land.
