Road widening upto 35-meters sparks tension in Delhi Gate

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Tensions flared in the Delhi Gate area on Monday after the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) abruptly began enforcing road widening based on a 35-meter plan, despite earlier announcements that the work would proceed according to the older 30-meter development plan (DP). Originally, the road from Delhi Gate to Harsul T-Point was marked as 30 meters wide in the city’s old DP.

Two days ago, the municipal corporation had publicly stated that road widening would be conducted as per the 30-meter plan — with 15 meters on each side of the road.

However, during Monday’s actual demolition drive in the Delhi Gate area, municipal authorities cited the newly approved DP, which classifies the road as 35 meters wide. Based on this updated plan, the road is now being widened to 17.5 meters on each side of the median — an increase of 2.5 meters on either side. As a result, several properties that were previously considered legal under the old plan were suddenly marked for demolition.

This abrupt change led to strong opposition from affected residents and business owners, particularly because no prior notice of the new measurements was issued. Adding to the public anger was the inconsistency in action: while commercial properties faced demolition up to 17.5 meters, residential ones were targeted only up to 15 meters, highlighting a clear case of discriminatory enforcement.

Many locals expressed frustration over the lack of transparency and the arbitrary shift in policy, which they said placed undue financial and emotional stress on law-abiding citizens.