Mumbai: The Nagpur authorities went into an overdrive earlier this month while preparing the city for the C20 (Civil Society 20) meeting of the G20 Summit. The event was successfully hosted on 20-22 March but has left power theft complaints and defamation cases in its wake.
The C20 is one of the eight official engagement groups of the G20 forum. The C20 India 2023 Inception Meeting saw the participation of around 250 representatives of civil society from G20 countries, and others. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, an MLA from the Nagpur South West legislative assembly, also attended the event. Nagpur is also the home turf of Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways.
Prepping for the two-day event, on 8 March, the Nagpur police, along with the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), issued orders prohibiting begging at traffic signals till 30 April.
Around 20 March, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) slapped a notice on contractors hired by the NMC to light up the city, accusing them of stealing power from streetlights.
After the event, the NMC also filed defamation cases on two social media critics, including a journalist, for alleging that some of the infrastructure for the city’s beautification was only for the duration of the conference.
In the civic body’s defence, NMC public relations officer (PRO) Manish Soni told ThePrint, “In the case of critics, we have registered a complaint and police will take further action…the criticism was not constructive.”
While addressing the press on 25 March, NMC commissioner Radhakrishnan B. also said that the criticism around the G20 projects was misplaced. “In most of these (G20) projects, around 95 per cent of the work is of permanent stature. There is a misunderstanding around the way we handled them.”
The NMC was under the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) control until March 2022 when the term of the general body expired and a state-appointed administrator took over. The NMC is said to have spent about Rs 200 crore on the city’s beautification ahead of the C20 conference.
Also read: Serving, ex-officers spar over democracy & governance at event, Amitabh Kant defends G20 spending
From banishing beggars to power theft
The MSEDCL received complaints about NMC contractors stealing power from street lights. An MSEDCL official told ThePrint, “The matter is resolved now. We have even collected fines from the contractors.”
The electricity board found contractors guilty under the Electricity Act. The official said they found thefts in at least six places and recovered a fine of Rs 50,000 from the contractors, adding that an internal enquiry has also been initiated into the issue.
Ahead of these meetings, the Nagpur police along with the NMC came out with a notification under Section 144 of the CrPC (prohibiting gathering of four or more people in a specified area), to prohibit individuals or groups from indulging in begging or forcing passersby to part with money at traffic junctions or any other public places from 9 March until 30 April. Flouting the order attracts a jail term of 1-6 months.
Police commissioner Amitesh Kumar was quoted in media reports as saying that they held meetings with the NMC and the decision was taken in order to beautify the city for the G20 summit along with other issues such as reducing crime in the garb of begging.
ThePrint reached Kumar via phone but did not receive a response. This report will be updated once he responds.
Defamation cases
On 22 March, after the meeting, the NMC allegedly removed saplings planted in one of the gardens in the city. This was shared by journalist Vinay Pande as a news report. Pande also shared a meme regarding the same on his social media handle where he used an image of the NMC commissioner, adding, “Aapke saath prank hua hai (You have been pranked).”
Social media influencer Ayush Nevatia made a video highlighting how NMC labelled a statue of two boys on Walkers’ street as “Chidimar Boys” (literally meaning eve teaser pair). He pointed out that such labelling shows Nagpur boys in poor light. The video went viral, prompting the NMC to label the statue as “The Boys”.
However, the NMC then filed a complaint with the police and the latter registered a non-cognizable offence against the Nevatia and Pande under section 501 (printing, engraving defamatory matter), 502 (sale of printed or engraved defamatory matter) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“It is a clear case of arrogance on the NMC’s part that they feel they can’t back out now,” said journalist Vinay Pande to ThePrint. “They are trying to muzzle the voice of the common people. I used the meme in a light-hearted manner. I hope the NMC will take the complaint back as it would send out a positive message,” he said.
A senior NMC official who did not wish to be quoted said the meme was distasteful.
“We are not against any meme or criticism. We have never bothered to file a complaint in the past but what he (Pande) did using the commissioner’s picture was distasteful. We complained because we wanted to make a point that such things won’t be tolerated. Criticise, but do so constructively,” he said.
He pointed out how others raise complaints regarding an unfinished job or how people approach them with some work and the NMC ensures redress.
“In the other case (Nevatia’s), we rectified what we had done (earlier). But he should have made a similar video, saying how we corrected ourselves. That was not done. The first video is still out there,” the official added. ThePrint tried to reach Nevatia via phone calls. This report will be updated once he responds.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
Also read: ‘Beautification’ to bulldozers, how Delhi is going all out to become showcase city for G20 summit