Nagpur's Old Bhandara Road and Jambudeep Nagar drain projects stuck for years despite funds
Two small projects in Nagpur, a 3 km road stretch and a drain beautification, remain stalled for different reasons even though funds are said to be available.
Nagpur city and district have seen big development works worth thousands of crores of rupees in recent years. The city's Nitin Gadkari is Union Minister and Devendra Fadnavis is Chief Minister, and in this period a network of cement roads and flyovers has come up. Many works are under way and many are in the pipeline. Even so, two small projects are stuck for different reasons.
The first is Old Bhandara Road, just 3 km long, from Mayo Hospital Chowk to Sunil Hotel Chowk. The second is the beautification of the drain at Jambudeep Nagar in South Nagpur. It has been stated that there is no shortage of funds for either work.
Work on Old Bhandara Road has been hanging fire for about 27 years. Some affected people have gone to court and stopped it. Bhushan Dadve of the Madhya Nagpur Vikas Aghadi had filed a petition in the High Court seeking early construction of the road. In 2017 the High Court directed that it be completed quickly, and nine years have passed since then as well.
Work to concrete and widen the road began about a year ago. But some affected people have approached the court over compensation. Until that matter is settled, the work will remain stalled. There is a demand that, where property holders have taken compensation, the obstructing portions of their properties be demolished and the road widened. But officials are not showing seriousness about this.
Dadve said it is the right of the affected people to go to court. But in the public interest, it is necessary for the other side to settle the matter quickly too, and that other side is the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. He alleged that the corporation's lawyers do not turn up at hearings, and when they do, they give some reason or other and seek the next date. According to him, the road is now stuck on "dates". Dadve said the hearing is scheduled for September 30, that is, today. He said the corporation should present its case firmly through its lawyer so that the court can give a decision, and should not drag out the project by playing a game of time-pass.
On the other side, the Jambudeep Nagar drain in South Nagpur becomes a problem for residents in the rain. In some stretches the drain overflows and water enters the homes of hundreds of people. The drain wreaked havoc in the July 2024 rain. The then municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhary and the area's MLA Mohan Mate inspected the drain. The commissioner gave directions including cleaning the drain and increasing its depth.
Earlier, during the tenure of the then MLA Sudhakar Kohale, Rs 13 crore was sanctioned for deepening the drain and laying a slab over it. Only the work of changing the drain's course and laying slabs in the Mahalaxmi Nagar-2 section could be done. After that, deepening and slab work was carried out in some parts of the Ambika Nagar Ladikar Layout, in the direction from Ayodhya Nagar towards Jambudeep Nagar.
Laying slabs in some stretches of the Jambudeep Nagar drain is said to be held up for a technical reason. According to information, near Ring Road the drain passes through a private plot and its owner is not giving up the land. If force is used, the owner may go to court. Residents say there is no technical obstacle in the stretches where slabs have not been laid, and ask why work is not being done there. They are tired of demanding slabs. Petitions have been submitted many times to the area's corporators and the MLA. In summer, the stench rising from the drain, insects, mosquitoes and snakes also trouble people.
