The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has taken serious note of the long-pending problems of traffic congestion and encroachments in Dhantoli, Congress Nagar and Ramdaspeth. The Court has issued show-cause notices to senior officials of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation and the Nagpur City Police for not following earlier court orders and for failing to resolve the situation. The notices were issued during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Dhantoli Nagarik Mandal.

 

The PIL highlights that several hospitals and establishments in these areas have encroached on parking spaces and public roads, creating severe traffic blockages and safety risks for residents and patients. Despite repeated orders from the High Court over the past years, the situation has remained unchanged. During Friday’s hearing, Advocate Ashwin Deshpande, representing the petitioner, submitted a list of responsible officials who failed to act on the encroachment and traffic issues. The names include:

 

DCP Traffic Lohit Matani; ACP Traffic Maheshkumar Thakur; Dhananjay Jadhav, Assistant Commissioner, NMC, Laxmi Nagar Zone; Abhijeet Netam, Deputy Engineer, NMC, Laxmi Nagar Zone; Rajkumar Meshram, Assistant Commissioner, NMC, Dharampeth Zone and Pramod Mokhade, Deputy Engineer, NMC, Dharampeth Zone. Advocate Deshpande informed the court that these officers have repeatedly failed to take action against illegal constructions and parking encroachments, despite multiple complaints and earlier court directions.

 

The court has issued show-cause notices for contempt of court to all these officers. Court demands contact details for direct reporting The bench of Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Rajnish Vyas instructed that the mobile numbers and email addresses of all responsible officers be given to the Police Commissioner and the Municipal Commissioner before November 25.

 

This will allow citizens and the petitioner to send photographs and videos of traffic congestion and encroachments directly to these senior authorities for immediate action. On Thursday, the High Court had also directed the petitioner to submit updated photographs of the present condition in Dhantoli. The pictures presented in court on Friday clearly showed that hospitals and other establishments continue to occupy parking areas illegally which leading to heavy traffic jams. Court questions non-compliance The judges remarked orally that the earlier orders of the High Court were “not being implemented at all.

 

” They questioned why the concerned officers should not face action for failing to carry out their duties. The court noted that the problems persist because of the lack of enforcement by civic and police officers. The court has given the officials three weeks to submit their written explanations. Adv Ashutosh Dharmadhikari and Adv Ashwin Deshpande appeared for the petitioner. Adv Gemini Kasat represented the NMC, while Adv Deepak Thakre appeared for the State Government.