Nagpur’s much-hyped “London Street” in Khamla — touted as a model under the Smart City plan — remains unusable despite being fully constructed. The road, meant to connect Khamla to the Inner Ring Road near Mangalmurti Chowk, is ready in every way but blocked off by barricades, tape, and bureaucracy.
Built by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), the road is lined with paver blocks, street lamps, footpaths, and dividers. But it remains inaccessible due to a deadlock between the NMC and the Public Works Department (PWD).
According to Krusha Gharde, Executive Engineer, PWD’s World Bank Division, the NMC has not submitted any official proposal to link the road with the PWD-owned Ring Road.
In response, Raju Gautam, Executive Engineer, NMC, claimed that communication had already been made. He pointed to ongoing stormwater drain work at the junction, saying opening the road now would cause flooding during the monsoon.
Making matters worse, Section 9 of the Maharashtra Highways Act, 1955, prohibits any authority from altering or linking roads to state highways without prior written permission from the PWD. Unauthorized links can be demolished and costs recovered.
So, while the road is visually complete, it’s functionally stuck — a textbook case of inter-departmental mismanagement.
London Street was envisioned as a vital urban connector. Today, it stands as a symbol of red tape and lost utility, while citizens continue to suffer the cost of delay.
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