Nagpur : Once renowned as the locality of city’s rich and famous with plush bungalows and mansions, Dhantoli has now turned into a mess of haphazard high rise buildings, mostly occupied by hospitals and clinics. Even a PIL by residents in the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court could not improve the situation, forcing many citizens to even shift to other areas.
On Tuesday, when another PIL filed by Dhantoli Nagrik Mandal came up for hearing, a division bench comprising chief justice Naresh Patil and justice Nitin Sambre expressed serious concern over the problems faced by residents due to severe congestion and parking problems.
Censuring civic officials, the bench observed that due to sudden rise in number of hospitals and clinics in the area, the number of visitors too has shot up drastically, thus creating severe traffic snarls and parking problems in the area with narrow lanes and bylanes. The HC directed Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and traffic police to convene a meeting with concerned government officials to discuss and resolve the problems faced by Dhantoli citizens. The judges pointed out that it’s the duty of public representatives (corporators) to help them in such situations, by formulating policies to save them from the menace.
They suggested that the respondents explore possibilities like implementing odd-even system, successfully implemented in New Delhi, along with widening of narrow roads, creating no-parking zones and one-ways. These should be first implemented on pilot basis, and, if successful, could be replicated in other areas. They directed the authorities to deploy local agencies to monitor traffic, keep a check on sanctioning authorities, and take stringent measures to control haphazard parking.
has been consistently raising the issue from time to time, and highlighting how hospitals were allowed to indulge in Dhantoli, leading to the traffic congestion.
Earlier, petitioners’ counsels — Ashutosh Dharmadhikari and Ashwin Deshpande — contended that though the civic officials had taken steps as per HC’s directives after last hearing, in January and April last year, they were turning out to be insufficient due to inadequate monitoring.
Fed up with the number of hospitals mushrooming in the already crowded area, the petitioners prayed before the to HC make it mandatory for new buildings to have two parking slots for cars and two-wheelers for every flat. They also demanded change in rules for existing plot owners, to ease traffic congestion and parking problems.
They contended that a majority of hospitals are using designated parking zones for various facilities, like reception counters, store rooms, canteen and even for installing generators, in gross violation of norms. There are close to 115 hospitals and medical clinics in a radius of just 1.5km, which could be a record of sorts. A prayer has also been made to stop construction of any more full-fledged hospitals, if not small clinics and dispensaries, in existing residential areas.
Read Also : CM Fadnavis gets rousing welcome at Nagpur airport for clearing Maratha quota Bill
