Nashik Municipal Corporation has been told not to excavate near the state-protected Neelkantheshwar Mahadev temple for a proposed underground sewer line until it obtains prior approval and a no-objection certificate from the state archaeology department.
The archaeology department’s Nashik divisional office issued the direction in a letter dated November 3 to the superintendent engineer of NMC’s water supply and sewerage mechanical department. Copies were sent to NMC commissioner Manisha Khatri and Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority commissioner Shekhar Singh.
The department said excavation close to the temple could affect the monument’s foundation, original construction and overall stability. It directed the civic body not to undertake excavation or related activity near the structure until the required permissions were secured.
As part of the approval process, NMC has been asked to submit detailed information about the proposed sewer line. This includes the alignment, excavation depth and width, the nature of the work and the methodology that will be used during execution.
The archaeology department has also instructed NMC to adopt necessary technical safeguards to ensure that the protected structure is not affected by the sewerage work. Assistant director of archaeology for the Nashik division, A N Gote, told the civic body to treat the matter seriously and reiterated that the project cannot proceed without the department’s NOC.
The sewer line is among several infrastructure projects being planned or executed in Nashik ahead of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela. The intervention places the proposed civic work within the approval framework that applies to construction and excavation near protected heritage properties.
NMC officials said the civic body would obtain all required clearances and implement appropriate technical precautions before carrying out sewerage work in the area. The archaeology department’s approval process will therefore determine when excavation near the Neelkantheshwar Mahadev temple can begin.
