Nashik mayor: Will seek funds for development of 22 merged villages

Nashik: Mayor Himgauri Aher on Wednesday directed the civic administration to increase the ward development funds, for those wards housing the 22 merged villages, in the Nashik Municipal Corporation's (NMC) budget for the 2026-27 financial year.She also said they all will soon meet chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde to seek adequate financial support for the overall development of these villages that were brought into civic limits in 1982 when the municipal corporation was established.Her remarks were made during the NMC's General Body meeting after corporators complained that the administration had stopped making financial allocations under the "village development funds" head and expressed concern over the lack of basic amenities. The corporators took part in the discussion raised through a letter submitted by senior corporator Dinkar Patil."Despite being within the city limits for over four decades, these villages continue to remain underdeveloped. They still lack basic civic infrastructure such as proper roads, water supply and drainage networks," Patil said."Earlier, financial provisions were made for basic infrastructure in these villages. But the civic administration has not made such financial provision in the budget for the past few years," Patil said, adding that they expect civic body to allocate adequate funds to upgrade basic infrastructure.Deputy mayor Vilas Shinde also raised the issue in the House. He said the NMC earns substantial revenue from industries in Ambad and Satpur industrial estates of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), which fall within the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation."Despite that there is no adequate financial allocation for improving the road infrastructure in these two industrial estates," Shinde said.