NAGPUR: The functioning of the NMC’s development plan (DP) road department has come under scanner. The 800 metre road widening work from University Library Square to Maharajbagh road remains incomplete even after 17 months.The work order was issued on September 9, 2015 and the road widening should have been completed within six months. But the private contractor entrusted with the job has stopped the work.TOI visited the spot and found that the slow pace of work has increased trouble for motorists. TOI even witnessed a minor accident after two-wheeler rider slipped on the loose gravel scattered on the road. Also, many road users were hit by ricochet stones.“The stones often ricochet when cars and other four-wheelers pass over them. It can cause serious injuries to us,” claimed a two-wheeler rider.The estimated cost for the 850 metre stretch was Rs 4.74 crore. The delay in completion has also increased the project cost which has now reached Rs 5.50 crore. At the beginning, the Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV) had opposed the widening of the road to 24 meter from the existing 12 meter.Till now, the work is not even 50% complete with asphaltation done only on the University Library Square side. Even the footpaths along the road are not constructed. The half-done road is causing a lot of traffic chaos in the area, especially in front of Maharajbagh zoo which is full of loose gravel.Sources questioned the functioning of the DP road department as it has failed to complete the road within the deadline of March 2016. This has also exposed the lack of foresightedness of the department while preparing the development plan report.The department ignored widening of the existing bridge over a nullah and shifting of electric poles. They realized this after the work was started, admitted the chief engineer NMC Ulhas Debadwar. This has caused further delay, he said and assured that the process to complete the work is on and it would be completed soon.He, however, failed to explain how the NMC will make Nagpur a Smart City when it could not complete 800 metre patch in 17 months. Superintending engineer (DP roads) Dilip Jamgade and Dhantoli zone ’s deputy engineer Manoj Singh claimed the shifting of BSNL cables and electric poles have already started.Sources said that the contractor has stopped the work midway due to non-shifting of electric poles and non-release of its payments.