NMC Digging Ban Junked, Roads Battered All Around

Time of India

20-06-2025

Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation's (NMC) ban on road digging after May 31 has turned into a farce as unauthorised excavation continues across the city. NMC's water works department reported digging at at least 18 locations in city, openly defying municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari's directive.
Despite clear instructions to all departments and contractors not to undertake any trenching during the monsoon, civic officials failed to enforce the order, leaving citizens to suffer through crumbling roads, traffic snarls, and unsafe commuting conditions.
Chaudhari not only barred digging after May 31 but also ordered restoration of previously excavated roads before the onset of rains. He warned of criminal action and penalties against violators.
However, multiple agencies — ranging from utility firms to private contractors — carried on excavation work, particularly for cable laying and infrastructure upgrades, many without permission from the NMC's public works department.
Nowhere is this failure more evident than in areas under Mangalwari zone. Near Old Katol Naka Square, for instance, the road remains half-cut and dangerously uneven. Despite being aware of at least two such violations, the zone officials have not acted.
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Across the city, the situation is no better. Deep trenches at many locations are left unbarricaded, and patchwork left unfinished has turned the stretch into a hazard for two-wheeler riders and pedestrians.
Residents report frequent near-miss accidents and daily inconveniences, especially during peak traffic hours.
Many key stretches have been dug up and abandoned, with debris dumped by the roadside. In several locations, construction mud and loose gravel lie scattered, adding to the danger with the monsoon approaching.
Though some pipeline and power supply damage occurred due to this careless work, the civic body's bigger failure is in not restoring roads and ensuring accountability.
Even large projects like AMRUT 2.0 and private cable laying are being carried out without adhering to post-digging restoration norms. Mounds of debris are left unattended for days, further clogging the already narrow roads. OCW, the city's water operator, reported 17 incidents in June where their pipelines were damaged due to such illegal roadwork and has sought action against contractors.
While the NMC claims to have lodged FIRs against at least three contractors in connection with damages, there's no visible deterrence on the ground. The commissioner's own order to hold errant officials accountable for failing to stop illegal digging remains largely unimplemented.
Even Chaudhari, during his visit to the Hanuman Nagar zone office, was appraised by the ex-corporators that despite levying a Rs1 crore fine on contractors entrusted to carry out sewerage network works under the Amrut 2.0 project, the dug-up roads were still not restored. This shows the casual approach of the NMC's PWD engineers to implement the civic chief's diktat.