High Court raps NMRDA and Trust over delay in Deekshabhoomi development
The Bombay High Court bench warned the Trust and the NMRDA that paperwork would no longer do, and that it expects visible progress on the ground by the next hearing.
The High Court has expressed strong displeasure over the working of the Trust and the Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) on the plan for the beautification and all-round development of Deekshabhoomi. At a hearing on Wednesday, the court said plainly that supplying information on paper would no longer be enough.
Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Rajnish Vyas made sharp oral observations. They said that if the same old replies kept being given and work continued at this pace, the development of Deekshabhoomi would not be completed even in the next 50-60 years.
The public interest litigation for the all-round development of Deekshabhoomi was filed in 2018. The court was not satisfied with the information the NMRDA placed before it. The court also expressed orally its displeasure that the administrative process did not show as much transparency as it should.
Deekshabhoomi is an important site linked to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's historic Dhamma Deeksha movement. Large numbers of followers come here from across the country every year. For this reason, plans have been drawn up at different levels for a long time for the development of the premises, beautification, traffic management, facilities for devotees and other basic arrangements.
The NMRDA told the court that M/s Sandeep Kamble Architects and Planners has been appointed project management consultant (PMC) for the redevelopment and beautification of Deekshabhoomi. According to the authority, the project design changed, so a fresh e-tender process had to be followed.
Sandeep Kamble was found eligible in this process. He has been made PMC at two per cent of the project cost. He was given an offer letter on July 15, 2026, and the formal agreement was completed on July 29, 2026.
The court clearly indicated that, instead of being given details of meetings, tenders and paperwork, it wants to see positive progress on the ground by the next hearing. If no concrete progress is visible at the next hearing, strict action could be taken against both nodal agencies.
The previous hearing in the case was held on August 10. The petitioner's counsel, Shailesh Naranware, had then told the court that the plan was to develop Deekshabhoomi on the lines of international-level cities such as Singapore and Dubai. In such a case, he said, it was a serious matter that the development of so important a historical and socio-religious site had remained stuck for years.
