Nagpur: Nearly 38km of roads in south-west Nagpur, dug up for the South Sewerage Project and left unrepaired for years, are set to be reconstructed at a whopping cost of Rs256 crore. The move has raised questions about the quality of execution, supervision and monitoring by the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department and the project management consultant (PMC).The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has proposed rebuilding roads across Prabhags 16, 36, 37 and 38 in Laxmi Nagar zone, covering Parsodi, Subhash Nagar, Trimurti Nagar, Lokhande Nagar, Nelco Society and adjoining localities. Residents have long grappled with potholed roads, uneven carriageways, sunken patches, exposed manholes and dust-filled streets after sewer pipelines were laid.Sources familiar with the project said road restoration formed part of the original sewerage contract, but the repair works allegedly failed to meet the required engineering standards. The sewer network involved excavation of trenches as deep as 3-5 metres, making scientific backfilling and compaction crucial for preventing future settlement.Sources further claimed that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) prepared by Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) for restoration of roads after utility works was not fully adhered to during execution. Officials said contractors restored only the excavated trench, while movement of heavy machinery and dumping of excavated soil damaged the adjoining carriageway. As successive monsoons caused the backfilled trenches to settle, patchwork restorations deteriorated, eventually leaving entire roads in a battered condition.The DPR itself paints a grim picture. Site inspections carried out in May this year documented uncompacted earth, broken pavement edges, sunken manholes, loose gravel, uneven surfaces, and heaps of excavated soil obstructing access to residential properties, highlighting the extent of deterioration after the sewerage works.The fresh proposal allocates Rs76.23 crore for Prabhag 16, Rs56.44 crore for Prabhag 36, Rs46.74 crore for Prabhag 37, and Rs75.58 crore for Prabhag 38. Roads measuring 6 metres, 9 metres and 12 metres in width will be reconstructed at rates of Rs4.62 crore, Rs5.79 crore, and Rs7.26 crore per kilometre, respectively.Ironically, the new estimates now include third-party quality audits, laboratory testing, and consultant supervision to ensure quality construction — safeguards that critics say should have been enforced during the original sewerage project itself.Officials associated with the project from the PHE and public works department maintain that reconstructing the entire carriageway has become unavoidable because repairing only the excavated trench would continue to leave roads riddled with uneven patches.Civic activists contend that the need for another Rs254.99 crore itself points to systemic failures in execution and oversight. “The city is not paying for new roads. It is paying to recover roads that should never have been left damaged in the first place,” a senior official familiar with the proposal said.The proposal has also revived demands for fixing accountability before fresh public money is spent. Civic activists questioned whether the contractor, PMC and PHE officials responsible for supervising the sewerage works should be held answerable for poor quality restoration works.# Rs255-CR ROAD REBUILD PACKAGEProject Cost: Rs254.99 croreRoad Length: Nearly 38 kmAreas Covered: Parsodi, Subhash Nagar, Trimurti Nagar, Lokhande Nagar, Nelco Society and adjoining areas# Cost per km6m roads: Rs4.62 crore9m roads: Rs5.79 crore12m roads: Rs7.26 croreWard-wise AllocationPrabhag 16: Rs76.23 crorePrabhag 36: Rs56.44 crorePrabhag 37: Rs46.74 crorePrabhag 38: Rs75.58 crore# WHY THE ROADS FAILEDSewer trenches up to 3-5m deep were excavatedRoad restoration was part of the original sewerage contractSources claim the VNIT-prescribed SOP for road restoration was not fully followedContractors restored only the excavated trench, while adjoining carriageways deteriorated
