Nagpur: The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has issued a directive to the Public Works Department (PWD) to quickly finalise the construction of the road stretching from Bole Petrol Pump to Wadi. The court has also instructed removal of barricades, debris, and other obstacles obstructing vehicular traffic on the stretch.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the progress of the work, the High Court delivered a stern message to PWD officials during the hearing on Tuesday. The court mandated that the PWD, along with other concerned parties, submit their affidavits by next Monday. Additionally, the Executive Engineer and contractor faced questioning from the High Court regarding the delay in completing the road construction and warned of appropriate action against them.
Gold Rate
Thursday 20 March 2025
The court sought clarification on the responsibility for road maintenance, and questioned whether National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) or PWD was accountable. It highlighted lack of communication between the Executive Engineer and Superintending Engineer of the PWD regarding road repairs and underlined the adverse impact on citizens due to poorly maintained roads.
The hearing was presided over by Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Abhay Mantri. They discussed the urgent need to address the inconvenience caused to citizens and stressed the importance of completing patchwork on the damaged Kalmeshwar Road and quick completion of work on the Pardi-Dighori Road.
In a related matter, the High Court had previously directed NHAI to repair and enhance service roads along Nagpur-Amravati, Nagpur-Bhandara, and Nagpur-Umred highways. This directive was issued during the ongoing Public Interest Litigation filed by Advocate Arun Patil. The PIL shed light on damaged service roads, illegal parking, and unregulated business activities by markets and hawkers which caused disruptions to traffic flow and posed safety risks.
Adv Neeraj Patil, representing the petitioner, was instructed to submit information and photographs detailing various issues related to service roads, which were presented in court on Tuesday. Advocate Firdos Mirza, represented the petitioner, and Adv Anish Kathane appeared for the NHAI during the proceedings.
