Nagpur: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday lambasted officials of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) for digging up roads under Amrut scheme and failing to properly restore them.He also issued a stern warning, directing officials responsible for failing to restore dug-up roads to be suspended and contractors to be blacklisted. The work is being executed by NMC’s public health engineering department headed by superintending engineer Shweta Banerjee.The stern directions came during a meeting at Gadkari’s Mahal office to review the proposed Nag River Project and the rehabilitation of settlements along the river. Guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, mayor Neeta Thakre and senior civic and district officials were also present.Gadkari said the city had already witnessed considerable inconvenience because roads excavated for AMRUT and other projects were not restored properly. He made it clear that the same situation should not be repeated during the Nag River Project, which will involve extensive excavation across the city.He directed officials to deploy modern machinery and technology for both digging roads and restoring them.The Nag River Project will be executed in five phases and includes sewage treatment and sewerage works. The project envisages construction of three new sewage treatment plants (STPs), reconstruction of two existing STPs and road excavation for various works across the West, South-West, South, Central and East assembly constituencies. For the project, over 500 km of roads would be dug up for strengthening the sewage network.With repeated road excavation emerging as a major concern, Gadkari also sought a system to identify utilities buried beneath roads before any excavation begins. Officials informed him that Nagpur currently does not have a utility mapping system covering underground pipelines, cables and other infrastructure.Gadkari suggested developing common ducts beneath roads to accommodate different types of pipelines, with the system planned keeping the requirements of the next 100 years in mind. The move could help prevent roads from being repeatedly dug up whenever new utilities are installed or existing networks expanded.The meeting also reviewed the proposed removal and rehabilitation of unauthorised settlements and slums located within 15 metres of the Nag River.NMC commissioner Vipin Itankar said around 2,500 houses would currently be required to rehabilitate the affected population. Gadkari directed the NMC and Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) to survey their vacant land and prepare a proposal for accommodating up to 5,000 houses.He also instructed authorities to ensure that project-affected families and encroachers complete all required documentation, including proof of residence, before rehabilitation.Gadkari also flagged pollution in the Nag River, saying contaminated water was affecting several talukas in Nagpur district as well as parts of Bhandara district.He directed the NMC commissioner and district collector to take immediate measures to prevent polluted river water from posing a health risk and to ensure farmers have access to clean water for agricultural use.
