Nagpur: The Nagpur beach of the Bombay High Court on Monday declined to grant an interim stay on the much-debated Zero Mile tunnel project in the city’s Sitabuldi area. The court stated that appropriate orders would be issued at the right stage of the proceedings.
Taking so motu cognisance of objections raised against the project, the court had itself initiated Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The matter was heard by a division bench comprising Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Vrushali Joshi.
Gold Rate
1 Oct 2025
The intervention application was by environmental activist Dr Jaideep Das, who has raised multiple objections related to poor planning, wastage of public money, threat to national security and damage to the environment. The matter is being heard as part of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The division bench has asked the Government to respond to the allegations by August 14.
Petitioner Dr Das pointed out that a new road and a ‘Freedom Park’ were recently constructed between Zero Mile and Institute of Science at a cost running into several crores. Now, barely two years later, the Government has proposed to demolish the same road to construct a tunnel in the same area. “This reflects complete mismanagement and poor planning. It is a huge waste of taxpayers’ money,” the petition stated.
According to the application, the proposed tunnel route passes dangerously close to sensitive Defence Ministry land. As per official rules, any construction within 100 metres of defence property needs a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the local military authorities. However, Dr Das claims that no such permission has been obtained. “This raises serious national security concerns,” he warned in the petition.
The tunnel construction will require the cutting down of 115 fully grown trees, including many that are 100 to 200 years old. These include heritage trees that contribute to the identity of Nagpur, once considered the second greenest city in the country. The Garden Department of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation had also issued a public notice on February 3, 2024, regarding tree cutting.
The petitioner sought a stay on the tunnel project. However, the court dismissed the plea for interim relief and scheduled the next hearing for August 14. Advocate Kuldeep Mahalle is assisting the court as amicus curiae.
Why is this tunnel needed at all?
The application raises a serious question: Why is this tunnel needed at all? Most of the traffic congestion in Nagpur is in the North-South direction (Samvidhan Chowk to Janata Chowk), while the proposed tunnel is in the East-West direction, where traffic flow is reportedly smooth. “There is no traffic survey to justify the project,” the petitioner said. Additionally, he warned that the area where the tunnel begins is near a large drain, and with past examples like Manish Nagar and Narendra Nagar underpasses flooding during monsoon, this tunnel could also be prone to water-logging.
