Nagpur: In a major revelation, the Irrigation Department has filed an affidavit before the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court stating that the Swami Vivekananda statue is constructed directly over the spill channel of the Ambazari Dam—a key hydraulic structure meant for flood discharge. This development has put the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) under intense scrutiny for violating the Dam Safety Act, 2021.
The affidavit was submitted during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by flood-affected citizens after the catastrophic September 22, 2023 floods, which resulted in massive destruction and deaths in the city.
Spill Channel Occupied by Statue
As per the affidavit by Executive Engineer Pranjali Tongse, the statue stands squarely within the tail channel—not adjacent to, but within the operational spillway of the Ambazari Dam. This dam, over 150 years old, is still functional and classified as a “small dam” based on national criteria.
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The affidavit refutes any claims suggesting that the statue’s location is independent of the dam structure and asserts that NMC, as the official owner, bears full responsibility for compliance and maintenance.
Illegal Construction Without Mandatory Approvals
The affidavit highlights that NMC undertook the construction without obtaining prior permissions from the Water Resources Department, thereby violating Clause 46 and Clause 26(6) of the Dam Safety Act, which mandates approval for any new work or structural changes in dam areas.
It further notes that government resolutions from 2013 and 2018 explicitly prohibit construction in the upstream and downstream areas of dams—rules that were ignored during the statue’s construction.
CWPRS Flood Report Under Fire
While acknowledging a flood-routing study by CWPRS, Pune, the Irrigation Department distanced itself from its findings, claiming it is not authorized to interpret technical expert reports. However, the department confirmed sharing relevant flood data for the study.
In a separate affidavit, petitioners have branded the CWPRS report a “sham”, alleging the report was crafted to justify illegal construction based on flawed data provided by NMC and Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC). They say the CWPRS wrongly assessed the dam’s discharge capacity as 116 cumecs, not the actual 320 cumecs, thus rendering the analysis misleading.
Statue Obstructs Water Flow
The petitioners also pointed to earlier studies that flagged the statue’s interference with the spill channel, dividing it into two narrow passages of just 5.07 meters each, severely affecting the dam’s discharge capacity during high-flow events.
They highlighted that the statue lies within a “No Development Zone” and “Prohibited Area” under city planning regulations. Even the Principal Secretary of the Urban Development Department had admitted the illegality of the construction.
Warnings Ignored Since 2018
Petitioners cited a VIDC meeting on April 12, 2018, where it was officially acknowledged that the statue obstructs the dam’s discharge. The VIDC even proposed ₹10 crore worth of restoration work, of which ₹1 crore was deposited by NMC—but no action followed.
They also pointed out that Ambazari Lake is a notified wetland under the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010, and the statue was built in violation of environmental norms without court permission.
Flood Damage and Losses
Blaming the statue for aggravating the 2023 flood, the petitioners claimed:
- 4 fatalities
- 26,612 private homes impacted
- Over ₹1,000 crore in losses
- ₹234 crore in public property damage
- A mere ₹16 lakh in compensation given to victim families
In light of the allegations, the High Court has directed NMC to file a detailed affidavit within a week. Advocate Tushar Mandlekar is representing the petitioners.
Call for Accountability of Political Leadership
The case has raised a deeper question: Why has no action been initiated against the then Mayor, Standing Committee Chairman, and other NMC office-bearers, under whose political patronage and pressure the officers approved the project despite repeated technical objections? The failure to act on red flags raised by VIDC and other departments suggests deliberate negligence or political interference. Accountability must extend beyond officials to those in elected positions who misused their authority, potentially endangering thousands of citizens.
