Pump-Based Action Impractical: HC Slams NMC Flood Control Plan

Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court has raised serious concerns over the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) preparedness to tackle monsoon flooding, observing that the civic body's reliance on submersible pumps to remove accumulated rainwater was ‘impractical'.The observations came while hearing a PIL filed by Rajiv Jagtap, president of NGO Janmanch, regarding persistent waterlogging in several parts of Nagpur following the construction of elevated cement-concrete roads.A division bench comprising Justices Anil Pansare and Nivedita Mehta examined an affidavit filed by the NMC outlining measures planned before the 2026 monsoon. The affidavit stated that ‘in the ensuing rainy season, there will be no waterlogging in any part of Nagpur city', and detailed steps proposed to improve drainage.Among the measures listed were the construction of side drains at appropriate locations to discharge rainwater, raising the height of existing stormwater drains along cement-concrete roads, building recharge pits in areas where elevated road levels caused water accumulation in residential premises, and installing chambers in low-lying plots connected to stormwater drains through PVC pipelines.The civic body also informed the court that a 24-hour emergency control room would operate during the monsoon and that high-capacity pumps would be deployed across city zones to remove accumulated water. The bench, however, expressed reservations about this approach. "The solution appears to us to be impractical," the court observed, noting that water tends to accumulate at multiple locations across Nagpur each year."It will be a challenging task to have these many submersible pumps, and further, to deploy them simultaneously at all the places," the judges said, emphasising that such measures cannot serve as a long-term solution.Directing the civic body to adopt a more effective strategy, the court ordered officials to identify waterlogging-prone areas across the city and create appropriate drainage arrangements to ensure that accumulated rainwater can flow out naturally without manual intervention. The court also noted that NMC's affidavit lacked a clear timeline for completing the proposed works and described the statement as "vague". It therefore directed the civic body to complete all necessary drainage-related works before May 31, ahead of the monsoon season.During the hearing, the court also recorded that the executive engineer concerned was not present when the matter was initially called. The bench directed the chief engineer to remain present before the court later the same day. The bench also instructed the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) to undertake a similar exercise for areas falling under its jurisdiction and to file a detailed affidavit before the next hearing.