Mumbai’s Ganpati mandals have signalled a firm stand against the civic body’s newly increased road digging penalties, declaring they will not pay the fines unless potholes across key city routes and the Mumbai–Goa highway are repaired. The move has ignited debate between civic infrastructure priorities and the cultural preparations for the upcoming Ganesh festival.
Under a revised civic policy, the penalty for digging holes in concrete roads to install bamboo poles for mandaps has been sharply increased from ₹2,000 to ₹15,000 per hole. Officials justify the hike as essential to protect the city’s freshly concretised roads, with re-laying costs significantly higher for damaged concrete compared to asphalt. The stricter enforcement comes as part of the city’s large-scale cement concretisation drive, which prohibits even minor trenching for three years after completion. Ganpati mandals argue that the state must first fulfil its responsibility of ensuring pothole-free roads before penalising community events. Representatives highlighted that festival preparations often require temporary road modifications, a practice long accommodated by civic authorities. They contend that imposing steep fines while roads remain in poor condition amounts to penalising citizens for civic shortcomings.
Civic engineers counter this argument by pointing to the high turnover of several mandals, which can run into crores of rupees, suggesting that the previous fine amount had little deterrent effect. The official stance is that allowing indiscriminate digging will compromise expensive infrastructure upgrades meant to benefit the public year-round. The disagreement comes at a sensitive time, as the festival season approaches and civic resources are stretched between monsoon road maintenance and pre-festival sanitation work. Civic body insiders say festival-related road works are traditionally managed through coordination, but this year’s stricter rules may strain relations between organisers and the administration.
Environmental considerations also play into the debate, with the impending ban on Plaster of Paris idols from next year signalling a broader shift towards more sustainable festival practices. However, community leaders allege such measures are being imposed without adequate consultation, creating friction rather than collaboration. For now, the stalemate reflects a larger question about balancing cultural traditions with the demands of modern infrastructure and environmental management. If unresolved, the dispute could set a precedent for how civic authorities and community groups negotiate during Mumbai’s busiest festive season.
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