Senior Congress leader and former state party president Nana Patole has raised a serious alarm over Nagpur's deteriorating environmental health, citing a recent report by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Speaking at rallies in the city on Sunday, Patole accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of pushing Nagpur towards illness through unchecked pollution and corrupt, debt-driven development projects.
NGT Report Sounds Alarm on City's Air Quality
Patole revealed that an NGT report has expressed grave concern over the rising pollution levels in Nagpur. He framed this environmental warning as a critical public health issue for the city's residents, who are already grappling with subpar civic services. The leader directly blamed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for the current state of affairs, alleging that their model of development has proven detrimental.
"An NGT report came out and it expressed concern over Nagpur's pollution," Patole stated. "On one side, these people pushed Nagpurkars into the fire. In the name of development, money was raised as debt, and through that debt-funded money, a development show was created — and there is corruption on a large scale in that."
Allegations of Loot and Environmental Destruction
Patole traced the problems back to 2007, when the BJP first came to power in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. He claimed that the last 19 years have seen systematic looting of Nagpur's citizens. Beyond financial corruption, he emphasized the irreversible damage inflicted on the city's ecology.
"They ended Nagpur's natural beauty," Patole lamented. "Nagpur also had a distinct identity as a green city — and that identity was wiped out." He criticized the allocation of large land parcels to big institutions at virtually no cost, promising free education for the poor, which he alleges never materialized. "Yesterday I came to know that an annual fee of Rs 16 lakh is being charged from poor boys and girls," he claimed.
Questioning the 'Smart City' Spend
The Congress leader also scrutinized the expenditures under the high-profile Smart City programme. He questioned the tangible outcomes for residents despite significant financial outlays. "Money was spent in Nagpur in the name of Smart City, but where is that smartness?" Patole asked, reiterating his charge of large-scale corruption by those in power.
The Sunday rallies saw participation from other prominent Congress figures including MLC Abhijit Wanjarri, chief spokesperson Atul Londhe, and former minister Satish Chaturvedi, who were campaigning for the party's local candidates. Patole concluded by urging the public to view the NGT's environmental warning as a crucial wake-up call regarding the city's governance and future.
