Nagpur: In a sharp rebuke to civic inaction, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report exposing the existence of over 10,000 open or broken manholes across the city, and has ordered the filing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) within two weeks to address the grave threat to public safety.
The division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Vrushali Joshi expressed serious concern over the Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) failure to act, particularly during the ongoing monsoon season when waterlogged streets hide these hazards. “Such widespread neglect by municipal authorities cannot be ignored. It directly endangers human lives,” the bench remarked while appointing advocate Shilpa Giratkar as amicus curiae to draft and submit the PIL.
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02 Aug 2025
The court’s intervention was prompted by a July 30 media report that highlighted the dangerous condition of thousands of sewer and stormwater chamber lids, missing, broken, or submerged, turning city roads and footpaths into deathtraps for pedestrians, motorists, and even animals.
During the hearing of a related case, a petition filed by Asha Bhagat, whose son died after falling into an uncovered well near Automotive Square and Kamptee Road, the High Court ordered that her matter be clubbed with the upcoming suo motu PIL on manhole safety.
Funds sanctioned, no work done
According to the report, the NMC had sanctioned Rs 15 crore, allocating Rs 1.5 crore for each of the 10 city zones to install 10,000 new manhole covers. Tenders were floated and finalized in April, yet not a single repair or installation has been carried out.
Many of the older cast-iron lids were reportedly stolen for scrap, while even temporary cement covers were stripped of their metal reinforcements. Although the civic body proposed switching to SFRC (Steel Fibre Reinforced Concrete) lids, the plan never advanced beyond paperwork.
“Despite police complaints and finalized tenders, manholes remain dangerously exposed,” the report noted, also documenting a surge in accidents caused by uncovered chambers, particularly on flooded roads.
Roads turn to traps during monsoon
The condition is exacerbated during the monsoon, as internal roads and footpaths often submerge, completely concealing missing manhole lids and transforming daily commutes into a dangerous gamble. The court has now taken the first step toward ensuring accountability and immediate redressal.
The matter will come up for further hearing once the PIL is filed. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the NMC and whether it will finally take concrete action to protect citizens from what has become a long-standing and lethal civic failure.
