NAGPUR: The rapid urban development near the Nag, Pili, and Pora rivers in north, east, and south Nagpur has put numerous new settlements at risk of flooding due to a lack of retaining walls. In response, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has proposed a ₹57 crore funding request to the state government for flood mitigation efforts, aiming to construct retaining walls in these vulnerable areas, as confirmed by NMC’s chief engineer, Manoj Talewar.
Although the state government has approved the NMC proposal “in principle,” the funds have yet to be released.
The proposal identifies critical areas such as Pardi, Punapur, Kalamna, Wanjra, Wathoda, and Narsala, where homes are alarmingly close to riverbanks without any retaining walls built by the NMC or the Nagpur Improvement Trust. These regions often experience severe waterlogging and flood-like situations during heavy rainfall. Earlier this month, even with minimal rainfall, many areas were flooded, highlighting the urgent need for protection.
According to official sources, the ₹57 crore proposal encompasses the construction of new retaining walls. A senior NMC public works department official stated, “If the funding isn’t released before peak monsoon, we face another disaster.”
Residents in these high-risk zones live in constant dread. A resident of Punapur remarked, “Even a slight rain transforms our homes into islands,” recalling the loss of belongings from the previous year’s floods. “How many times must we plead for a protective wall?”
Civic officials are concerned that a single heavy rain could replicate the devastation of the September 2023 flash floods, which severely impacted the city. The disaster saw significant portions of retaining walls along the three rivers collapse, particularly downstream of the Ambazari dam and along the Nag river. Many properties were inundated, inciting public outrage when the NMC failed to rebuild the damaged barriers.
Despite the state government allocating ₹204.72 crore in February 2024, including ₹163.23 crore for riverbank protection projects, the implementation has been frustratingly slow.
NMC issued work orders amounting to ₹154.42 crore, yet only ₹86.63 crore has been utilized. The civic body has urged the divisional commissioner to release the remaining ₹70.26 crore to finalize pending projects and settle contractor payments. The lack of these funds is significantly delaying flood prevention efforts, prompting residents affected by the September 2023 floods to seek intervention from the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court.
