Nagpur: Who is responsible for Nagpur’s potholed roads? Seeking to end the blame game over deteriorating road infrastructure, a petitioner has approached the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench seeking to bring six more government agencies and infrastructure bodies into an ongoing public interest litigation (PIL), arguing that accountability for road maintenance cannot rest solely with Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC).The issue assumes significance as Nagpur’s road network is controlled by multiple agencies, resulting in fragmented responsibility for maintenance. NMC owns and maintains over 4,000km of roads, while several other stretches fall under the jurisdiction of Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT), state Public Works Department (PWD), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), Maha Metro and other infrastructure agencies.While NMC is expected to maintain roads under its jurisdiction, experts point out that other agencies have largely failed to ensure proper upkeep of roads falling under their respective jurisdictions. This has left commuters grappling with potholes, damaged surfaces and unsafe stretches, with accountability often becoming a contentious issue whenever road conditions deteriorate.Experts believe that instead of allowing multiple agencies to independently maintain roads within municipal limits, a single agency should be made responsible for maintaining the entire city road network. Such an arrangement, they argue, would eliminate jurisdictional confusion, ensure uniform maintenance standards and make it easier to fix accountability for poor-quality roads and accidents.Against this backdrop, petitioner Asha Bhagat, through an amendment application in PIL No. 58/2025, has sought permission to implead six additional respondents — Orange City Water (OCW), Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA), NHAI, PWD, MSRDC and Maha Metro.The move follows NMC’s response in the PIL, in which the civic body reportedly pointed out that roads and footpaths across Nagpur fall under the jurisdiction of various authorities, despite being aware of the need for their maintenance.The petitioner argued that these agencies must be brought on record for proper adjudication and to ensure that all authorities responsible for public infrastructure are made answerable.The PIL was originally filed seeking compensation for victims of accidents allegedly caused by poor-quality work and improperly covered manholes within NMC limits. It also sought a policy framework for compensating people suffering injuries or losses in such incidents.The amendment application, dated Sept 24, 2026, seeks the court’s permission to add the six agencies as respondents. Their proposed inclusion would enable the court to examine the responsibilities of all concerned authorities. The application is pending consideration.
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