NMC Starts Acquiring 191 Acres for Tapovan Sadhugram; Public Notice Gives 15 Days for Objections
Nashik Municipal Corporation has begun acquiring the 191.2 acres reserved for Sadhugram at Tapovan, the Times of India reported on 20 October. A public notice asks anyone with a claim on the land to file objections with documents within 15 days. Commissioner Manisha Khatri says the land is being measured and compensation talks with owners will follow.
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Update to our 9 October story: Slow Sadhugram land work worries Kumbh Authority. That post covered the Kumbh Mela Authority (NTKMA) pushing NMC to move faster on land for Sadhugram. The formal acquisition of the reserved land has now started.
The Times of India reported on 20 October 2026 that the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has begun the process of acquiring 191.2 acres reserved for Sadhugram at Tapovan. Sadhugram is the temporary township where seers, akhadas, khalsas and religious organisations stay during the Kumbh. The start of the process is confirmed: NMC commissioner Manisha Khatri is quoted on record. We have not seen the notice itself, so its details below are as reported.
What the notice asks
- NMC has issued a public notice inviting objections from anyone with a claim on the plots: landowners, occupants, leaseholders, mortgage holders, legal heirs and parties in court disputes over the land.
- Objections must be filed with supporting documents within 15 days. TOI did not give the notice date or the last date, so check the notice with NMC before you rely on a deadline.
- The push follows Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's recent review of Kumbh works, where he asked for land acquisition and infrastructure to be speeded up.
What happens next
- Manisha Khatri, NMC commissioner: "Once it is completed, we will start negotiations with the land owners for deciding the compensation amount." She was referring to the measurement of the 191 acres, which is under way now.
- A civic official told TOI the drive picked up after the state government on 5 June approved ₹2,267 crore for land acquisition and administrative expenses for Kumbh projects.
The bigger plan, and the court challenge
- Authorities want to expand Sadhugram from the 337 acres reserved in the development plan to nearly 1,380 acres for 2027, on the lines of the Prayagraj Kumbh. The extra land would be leased from farmers.
- Some landowners have gone to the Bombay High Court challenging the lease model. Officials say acquisition of the land already reserved for Sadhugram continues on schedule regardless.
- Tree felling at Tapovan is a separate issue. See NMC will build Sadhugram without cutting trees as NGT stay holds.
Figures that don't match
Our 9 October post, also based on TOI, gave slightly different numbers:
- Reserved area: about 350 acres then, 337 acres now.
- Target size: about 1,400 acres then, nearly 1,380 acres now.
- State sanction: about ₹2,200 crore then, ₹2,267 crore (approved 5 June) now.
The newer figures are more precise, but no official document with the final numbers has been published yet.
Related: Private tent city rules for Simhastha 2027, Kumbh status board, Naga sadhus and akhadas.
