Contractors Give Two Hoots To Civic Chiefs' Road Digging Ban
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Nagpur: Days after municipal commissioner and administrator Abhijeet Chaudhari issued a strict diktat banning all road excavation from June 1 and mandating full restoration of dug-up roads by May 31, violations continue to be glaringly visible across Nagpur.
On Monday, TOI found fresh excavation underway near the busy Old Katol Road square in Mangalwari zone, where a private telecom company was laying underground cables. The digging was in direct defiance of the civic chief's May 27 order. Following a TOI query, chief engineer Manoj Talewar directed the Mangalwari zone office to initiate immediate checks and action.
A similar case of unauthorised road work was observed near the State CID office in west Nagpur.
Even in the Narendra Nagar area, TOI found road digging was under way.
The May 27 high-level review meeting chaired by Chaudhari laid out clear consequences: failure to restore roads dug up for civic works by May 31 would result in steep fines and possible criminal prosecution. He also imposed a blanket ban on fresh road digging during the monsoon across all departments and private utility agencies, warning that violations would trigger police complaints and penalties for negligent engineers.
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Yet, ongoing utility and pipeline-related activities continue to mar key areas. Under the Pora River Pollution Abatement Project, the NMC's public health engineering (PHE) department dug up over 500km of roads in South-West, South, and Kamptee assembly segments for laying sewer lines. However, only 100km of work was completed so far, and in light of the June 1 ban, PHE superintendent engineer Shweta Banerjee confirmed the department halted fresh digging.
"The focus is now on restoring previously dug-up stretches. Around 80% of the restoration was completed, and work is ongoing to finish the remaining 20%," she said, adding that most incomplete sections lie in the South and Kamptee constituencies. Banerjee clarified that only emergency works, such as water pipeline repairs and strengthening interconnections under AMRUT 1.0, will be permitted during the monsoon.
Chaudhari also stressed that no debris or rubble should remain unattended, especially in slum pockets where sewer works are underway. Contractors were warned to clear sites thoroughly or face penalties. The sanitation department has been tasked with monitoring compliance.
With monsoon approaching, Chaudhari's ultimatum sends a clear message: incomplete roads and public inconvenience will no longer be tolerated. Yet, as the latest findings show, enforcement remains a challenge on the ground.
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