When a flyover meets a balcony An example of passing the buck

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nagpur’s ambitious Rs 998 crore Indora-Dighori flyover has suddenly turned into a topic of embarrassment in the country. What was meant to ensure seamless movement between Kamal Chowk, Reshimbag Square and Dighori is now being mocked across social media, where viral videos and photos’ show a flyover viaduct running almost flush against a family’s balcony at Ashok Circle on Great Nag Road. At Ashok Circle, a massive rotary is under-construction to allow for multiple exits to five roads that converge there.

 

To stunned viewers, it appears as though the colossal structure has barged straight into a living room. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) have been quick to shift blame. NHAI insists the flyover is “strictly as per approved designs,” noting there is a 1.5-metre gap between the beam and the building. They insist the balcony is an unauthorised extension and will be removed in due course. In a formal statement, NHAI stressed that it had “identified the encroachment” and “requested NMC for necessary removal action” long ago. NMC, meanwhile, has branded the house illegal construction, built without any sanctioned plan, pointing out that the land falls under a Nazul category and slum zone. Officials say demolition is imminent. That's okay but when, post dedication of project ?, is the question that is being asked in city.

 

The issue, however, is not of legality or illegality of one family’s balcony but the sheer dysfunction between Government agencies. If the property was unauthorised, why did NMC not act when NHAI flagged the issue? Why was the flyover alignment allowed to proceed without clearance of encroachments? In effect, a project of nearly a thousand crores has been permitted to rise in a manner that makes the city a laughing stock before the nation. Nagpur deserves better than this spectacle of passing the buck. Residents who will drive across this flyover are left wondering whether safety and urban planning are being compromised at the altar of bureaucratic negligence. Instead of acting in unison, authorities have displayed precisely the inter-departmental confusion that plagues Indian infrastructure projects. The Indora-Dighori flyover was meant to symbolise connectivity and progress. Today, it symbolises official apathy and poor co-ordination. Unless accountability is fixed, Nagpur risks becoming known not for its ambitious projects, but for flyovers that crash into balconies.