The city named after the Nag River has spent decades converting it into an open sewer carrying 500 million liters of raw sewage daily, and now wants to borrow ₹200 crore from bond markets to pretend this time will be different.
Nagpur Municipal Corporation is preparing to raise ₹200 crore through municipal bonds to fund the Nag River "rejuvenation" project — a river that currently serves as the city's most efficient sewage pipeline, carrying 500 million liters of untreated waste daily. The city is literally named after this river. Past rejuvenation projects have stalled due to land hurdles, contractor failures, and the general bureaucratic tradition of announcing deadlines only to watch them dissolve like the river's oxygen levels. NMC Commissioner Dr. Vipin Itankar has now set an April 30 deadline for completing the cleanup, which veterans of Nagpur civic governance will recognize as a genre of performance art rather than a commitment. Critics point out that borrowing crores without accountability, timelines, or any visible progress from previous spending is less a financial strategy and more a subscription service for disappointment.