Over 1k perish in Gadchiroli road accidents since 2019

Nagpur: Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday voiced profound concern regarding the mounting toll of road accidents in Gadchiroli district, where over 1,000 lives have been lost in six years since 2019, allegedly due to the ceaseless movement of iron ore-laden lorries along deteriorating highways.

A division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi, hearing a PIL (No. 20/2023) filed by Nitish Poddar, has requested authorities to furnish accident statistics from 2015 to 2018 to establish whether the surge in fatalities correlates with resumption of full-scale mining operations in the region post-2019.

The PIL, represented by counsel Renuka Sirpurkar, contends that unregulated mining-related traffic has resulted in severe road deterioration and public safety hazards, with heavily laden lorries damaging highway infra & contributing to an increase in fatal collisions.

In its affidavit, the NHAI Executive Engineer acknowledged that road conditions had deteriorated due to intense mining vehicle traffic. He noted that whilst a 17.05-kilometre stretch from Ashti to Lagam has been upgraded and opened, the planned expansion through a wildlife zone awaits forest department clearance. The court observed the lack of any update on this pending approval and instructed the NHAI to submit a comprehensive status report within fortnight.

The affidavit submitted by Gadchiroli SP Arun Phegade disclosed that 1,064 people died & 443 sustained injuries in 865 road accidents between 2019-Mar 2025. The court has instructed the SP to produce comparative data from 2015-2018 to evaluate correlation between increased mining activity & escalation in fatalities.

The court scheduled the next hearing for May 7, indicating sustained judicial examination into human & environmental impacts of mining in Maharashtra's most ecologically & socially sensitive area.