Five years after HC’s order: Old Bhandara Road widening gathering dust

Staff Reporter

Five years a is a pretty long period. Indeed a very long period, as during the same time, while administration and public representatives claim that Nagpur has transformed and is tagged as one of the smart cities. However, visit the Old Bhandara Road, it stretches from behind Chandralok Building, near Mayo Hospital till Sunil Hotel Square, Lakadganj, and one finds as if time has stood still for all these years. The DP road was to be widened to 60 feet under Integrated Road Development Programme (IRDP) with an aim to decongest the old city. However, nothing has moved during all these years, even as swanky building now dominates the skyline of city, many of which have been constructed using the public money.

What is more ironic is that July 19 marks five years to the order passed by Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court wherein it had directed Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to stick to deadline and widen the Old Bhandara Road as planned. A division bench of Justice B P Dharmadhikari and Justice Rohit Deo while taking on record affidavit filed by NMC officials had sought adherence to time line mentioned by them. However, year after year, Madhya Nagpur Vikas Aghadi on whose PIL the HC had directed NMC to undertake widening had organised cake cutting ceremony to remind authorities of failure to stick to promise.

Said Bhushan Dadwe, social worker and President, Aghadi, it seems NMC officials have little regard for HC’s directives. That time alone, Aghadi had contended that NMC that is citing shortage of funds, a sum of Rs 245 crore was required for land acquisition, does not hold true. But, HC believed in NMC officials and even agreed with suggestion of Aghadi to assist the civic body in recovery of property tax dues that alone would have funded the road expansion project.

However, powers that be in NMC worked hard to derail the project that would have streamline the entire Itwari and other wholesale market, claimed Dadwe. This year also Aghadi organised a ceremony to cut cake to protest non-widening of Old Bhandara Road. Dadwe along with Ravindra Paigwar, ex-Chairperson, had filed the PIL to seek directives for larger benefit of society. Unfortunately even after intervention of HC, the ground situation remains as fuzzy as it was earlier.

The ruling party leaders during election rally promised to provide funds from State Government to help NMC tide over financial crisis and expedite land acquisition that was major road block in expansion of Old Bhandara Road. However post election nothing materialised and the Old Bhandara Road is total nightmare for visitors, buyers and sellers alike.

Dadwe said what hurts is that road expansion project announced much later in city has been expedited and even land acquisition completed for same. Kelibagh Road is prime example for which funds were made available form Central Road Fund by Union Road Transport Ministry. But since no bigwig resides on Old Bhandara Road and same is used by common man, no powers that be are worried about their inconvenience and difficulties.

In 2020 the NMC had again sought funds from State Government for Old Bhandara Road widening but nothing came of it. Then Municipal Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe in official communication with then Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, stated that since CRF has been received same be allotted to NMC to undertake widening of Old Bhandara Road. However even that efforts failed to work and situation remains as chaotic as it was yesterday.