Civic body asks MNGL to pay for road damage

Nashik: The civic body has turned down the proposal of the Maharashtra Natural Gas Ltd (MNGL) seeking a waiver of road damage charges.
The MNGL had requested the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) to waive the charges for road damage caused while laying pipelines for supply of piped natural gas (PNG) used for cooking to households in the city. The NMC administration refused, given its financial condition. The NMC’s revenue generation in form of property, water and other taxes has taken a beating due to the pandemic, confirmed the NMC officials.
“We have asked the MNGL to pay the road damage charges,” said Ganesh Gite, the chairperson of the NMC standing committee.
A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting held recently between NMC and MNGL officials. Municipal commissioner Kailas Jadhav, independent director of MNGL Rajesh Pande, Gite and other officials from both the sides attended the meeting.
“The road damage charges vary from Rs 200 per metre to Rs 5,500 per metre depending on the road category — earthen road, macadamized road, tar road and road made of cement-concrete. Currently, the MNGL has started laying a 30km pipeline. We have sought Rs 7 crore as damage charges for the roads the MNGL has already taken permission for,” said NMC city engineer Sanjay Ghuge. “Moreover, the MNGL has also sought permission to lay another 150km of pipeline. We have also asked them to pay the road damage charges for that too,” added Ghuge.
Rajesh Pande confirmed the development and said MNGL will pay. “We have plans to provide PNG to all households in the city in phases over seven-eight years,” he said. Apart from PNG, it has also proposed six CNG stations to provide green fuel to NMC’s city buses and other vehicles. These CNG stations are expected to be operational soon.