Nagpur: Nagpur’s claim to being a smart and progressive city rings hollow when citizens themselves continue to treat public spaces with utter contempt. In a damning indictment of civic sense, Nagpurians paid a staggering Rs 5.51 crore in fines in 2025 for brazen violations of basic civic norms. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) Nuisance Detection Squad (NDS) cracked down on 45,176 cases, exposing how carelessness, entitlement and habitual indiscipline have become routine behaviour rather than rare exceptions.
Official data reveals that violations ranged across 30 categories, including littering, spitting, use of banned single-use plastic, illegal dumping of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, improper disposal of biomedical waste and unauthorised public structures. The worst offender was Laxmi Nagar Zone, which alone accounted for 5,891 cases and Rs 82.63 lakh in fines, clearly emerging as a hotspot of civic defiance rather than discipline.
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28 Jan 2026
Illegal dumping of C&D waste stood out as one of the most blatant and disruptive offences, choking roads and public spaces and causing daily inconvenience to citizens. Despite mandatory 48-hour notices, individuals and builders continued to flout rules with impunity. As a result, individuals paid Rs 1.78 crore for 8,921 offences, while builders and developers were fined Rs 46.90 lakh for 469 violations, a sharp reminder that even those profiting from the city’s growth show little respect for its livability.
Equally alarming was the rampant misuse of public spaces for functions. The NDS collected a massive Rs 1.72 crore from 15,839 cases of illegally or improperly erected pandals, making it one of the highest fine-generating offences of the year. Dharampeth Zone topped this list, contributing Rs 31.20 lakh from 2,404 cases, highlighting how celebration often comes at the cost of public inconvenience and safety.
Despite a state-wide ban, single-use plastic continues to thrive in Nagpur’s markets. In 2025 alone, 638 offences were booked, resulting in Rs 31.95 lakh in fines. Gandhibagh Zone led this violation chart with 291 cases and Rs 14.55 lakh collected, proving that environmental laws are still treated as optional by many traders.
Street vendors, hawkers and stall owners also figured prominently, with Rs 27.98 lakh collected from 6,994 cleanliness-related offences. Dirty vending areas, unhygienic practices and blatant disregard for surroundings underline how enforcement, not responsibility, remains the driving force behind compliance.
Head of NDS, Virsen Tambe, minced no words, stating that public spaces belong to everyone and cannot be misused at individual convenience. However, the figures make it clear that warnings and fines alone are failing to instil discipline.
The data paints a grim picture: Nagpur is paying crores not because rules are harsh, but because civic sense is weak. Routine acts like spitting, littering, blocking roads with pandals and dumping waste illegally reflect deep-rooted behavioural issues. Unless citizens take ownership of their city and civic education is taken seriously, enforcement will remain a costly, reactive exercise, and Nagpur will continue to bleed money for mistakes that are entirely avoidable.
