The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has taken a firm stance on the city's crumbling sewage infrastructure. On Wednesday, the court directed the Nagpur Municipal Corporation to produce a comprehensive report. This report must detail the quality, specifications, and standards of all manhole covers being installed across Nagpur. The civic body has just one week to comply with this order.
Court Alarmed by Scale of the Problem
A division bench comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode issued this directive. They were hearing a Public Interest Litigation that exposed serious lapses in the city's sewage system. The PIL highlighted a shocking reality. More than ten thousand manhole covers are currently either damaged or completely missing.
The court described this situation as a direct threat to public safety. This danger becomes especially acute during the monsoon season. Open manholes often remain submerged under water, making them invisible and deadly traps for pedestrians and motorists.
No Compensation Policy for Victims
During the proceedings, the bench made another critical observation. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation does not have any formal policy to compensate victims of accidents caused by open or defective manholes. This lack of a safety net for citizens further compounded the court's concern over the gravity of the issue.
Given the serious nature of the problem, the court had earlier ordered that the matter be treated as a PIL. It then sought an official response from the civic administration, leading to this week's hearing.
Visual Evidence Presented in Court
Advocate Shilpa Giratkar appeared for the petitioner, Asha Bhagat. She placed a substantial amount of visual evidence on the court record. This included 160 photographs documenting the poor state of infrastructure.
The images showed open manholes, deep potholes, and incomplete road works. This evidence was collected from all ten zones of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. It also covered areas that fall under the Besa-Pipla Nagar Panchayat.
Questions Over Quality and Durability
The court was informed that the NMC had received 350 specific complaints about broken manhole covers. Of these, the civic body claimed to have addressed 338 complaints, with 12 still under process.
However, the bench raised serious doubts about these figures. Justices Kilor and Wakode questioned the very durability of the covers being installed. They observed that the repeated damage to these covers raises significant concerns. It casts doubt on whether proper standards and specifications are being followed during their installation and manufacturing.
The court's intervention underscores a pressing urban safety issue. Nagpur's residents now await the municipal corporation's detailed report, due within the next seven days.
