Residents and farmers in Manchar have opposed the Nagar Panchayat’s proposed development plan, alleging that road reservations and land allocations for public facilities could affect homes, farmland and private property. At a meeting held at the Bhairavnath temple on Sunday, residents demanded that the plan be withdrawn and redrafted after their objections and suggestions are considered.
The meeting was organised to discuss the proposed plan and was attended by local elected representatives, office-bearers of political parties, social workers and residents. Jansevak Sanjay Thorat said the plan had been prepared without adequately considering agricultural land and local conditions. He warned that several allegedly unnecessary reservations could affect farmers’ land and potentially leave some landholders without their means of livelihood.
Residents also raised concerns about the proposed road network. Raju Inamdar said road widening could affect several houses, while Rajaram Bankhele alleged that a road had been proposed through his house and that 30 gunthas of his land had been reserved for a playground. He said similar provisions affected other residents and called for the existing plan to be cancelled.
The objections centre on how land reserved for roads, playgrounds and other public purposes would affect existing ownership and settlement patterns in Manchar. The supplied report does not specify the total area covered by the plan, the number of affected properties or the formal stage of approval reached by the Nagar Panchayat. It also does not include the authority’s response to the residents’ allegations.
During the meeting, advocate Nilesh Andhale made a presentation through a video and urged residents to submit written objections to the development plan. Speakers also called for efforts to raise the issue during the winter session of the legislature in Nagpur. Presentations by Navnath Thorat and Kunal Bankhele argued that the proposed plan could cause substantial losses to residents and farmers.
Residents reportedly expressed their opposition by raising their hands and made a unanimous demand for the plan to be cancelled and replanned through a process that considers public suggestions and objections. From Tuesday, residents plan to conduct a door-to-door campaign to collect objections. The group also announced a rotating hunger strike at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk.
