Confirming the development, municipal commissioner Shyam Wardhane
told TOI that as per NMC records currently there are 1,323 religious
structures, including temples and mosques, in the city. “This list
included all the ancient as well as the illegal religious structures
that were built along roadsides,” he said. The new survey aims at
differentiating between the legal and the illegal religious structures,
he added.

On Monday, the civic chief Wardhane convened a meeting of NMC officials and police inspectors from 23 police stations.

Now, the team will not only verify whether the religious monuments have
large mass following but will also look into aspects like sanction from
NMC or NIT’s town planning authorities, no objection certificates from
land owners (if constructed on any open plot).

“Zonal officers
or assistant municipal commissioners and city police have been asked to
coordinate with all the other departments to conduct the survey. They
have been asked to file a report within a week. This will give us clear
picture on the total number of such structures,” he added. The report
will help the civic body to decide if the illegal structures could be
demolished.

Lakadganj has the highest number of such
constructions followed by Dhantoli and Nehru Nagar. Statistics available
with TOI show that despite Lakadganj zone having highest number of
religious and non-religious structures, none of them were removed
ignoring the fact that these structures posed hurdles in city’s
development plans and also blocked traffic besides creating law and
order situation.

In September 2009, a high court division
bench, comprising justices AP Lavande and Pramod Kode, had directed the
Nagpur commissioner of police and municipal commissioner to fix
responsibility on concerned officers responsible for the areas where
illegal structures were posing hurdles for the traffic.

The CP
had been asked to assign this task to deputy commissioners of police in
respective areas. Similarly, the NMC commissioner was told to delegate
this work to ward officers. But ironically, both agencies had turned a
blind eye. It can be gauged with the fact that just a year ago an
illegal religious structure came up near state ASI office in Civil
Lines.

The holy and unholy

Zones Religious structures

Laxmi Nagar 115

Dharampeth 53

Hanuman Nagar 134

Dhantoli 240

Nehru Nagar 140

Gandhibagh 68

Satranjipura 114

Lakadganj 242

Asi Nagar 98

Mangalwari 119