Nagpur drain wall work shown complete on paper, but only just begun on site, alleged

Floodwater from the September 2023 floods entered homes in Nagpur, with Dharampeth zone among the worst hit. In view of this, the state government had given funds to the municipal corporation. When the High Court took up the matter seriously in a public interest litigation, it was decided to build protection walls for the drains immediately. It is nonetheless alleged that the work kept getting delayed despite the High Court's displeasure.

According to departmental documents, a budget of Rs 16.35 crore was sanctioned for flood control and drain construction in Ward 14 of Dharampeth zone. The work order was issued on February 23, 2024. In the tender process, the work was awarded to an agency named 'Abhi Engineering' at a rate 19 per cent below estimate, or roughly Rs 13 crore.

Departmental records already show the entire project as 'work completed'. But a check on site found that work on the protection wall of a 480-metre drain at Ramgiri slum, Vikasnagar, began only seven days ago. In addition, drain construction at Falke Layout in Surendragarh and behind Dream Park Society in Civil Lines is still not complete.

Corporator Abhijeet Jha said the work order was issued in 2024. According to him, Vijay Gurubakshani and Pramod Mokhade, who later served as executive engineers of Dharampeth zone, extended the contractor's time, and this is why the work has not been done so far.

It is also alleged that a 112-metre 'dummy' sewer line was laid at a cost of Rs 5 lakh from Gondwana Club to the drain beyond Jatashankar Temple, near Rudra Mata Temple and behind Ramgiri. A year later, neither sewage nor rainwater flows through this line, yet the contractor's bill was passed.

The drain construction work behind Ambazari police station was sub-let to MD Construction. An inspection found serious technical flaws there, such as bulging of the wall and defects in the shuttering plates. Gurubakshani was the executive engineer for all the works carried out in Dharampeth zone during the administrator's rule.

It has been said that all works from Gurubakshani's tenure as Dharampeth zone executive engineer during the administrator's rule need to be investigated. Several examples have been cited and objections have been raised for a long time, yet no action is being taken. He is now at headquarters as superintending engineer, but questions remain over his way of working. It is alleged that works shown as complete in the records, with payment approved, have begun on the ground only a few days ago or are still unfinished.

Superintending Engineer Gurubakshani said that at present he has no cement road works or any project works. He said he has also not been given any responsibility for DPDC works.