Nashik authorities face a major execution challenge as 35 major road and bridge projects for the Simhastha Kumbh Mela remain largely incomplete with around 70 per cent of the work pending. The Nashik Municipal Corporation's Public Works Department is managing 28 road projects and seven bridge projects across roughly 150 km of routes. The projects were sanctioned with an estimated expenditure of Rs 14 billion (bn) but progress is reportedly only about 30 per cent, increasing pressure on officials to accelerate work.

Among the bridges, the structure over the Nasardi River at Milind Nagar has progressed more rapidly, reaching about 45 per cent completion, while many other sites are still in initial or intermediate stages. Municipal officers have said that phased administrative clearances delayed start dates, reducing effective execution time. This has compounded concerns over whether the full programme can be completed by March 2027.

State planners approved an extensive development plan covering roads, bridges, water supply, electricity, river ghats, sanitation, technology and security, generating a complex matrix of tasks for multiple agencies. Hundreds of individual works were cleared or proposed, with major infrastructure projects representing a particularly heavy workload to finish within the limited timeframe. Coordination among the Nashik Municipal Corporation, public works, water resources, electricity distribution, police and local bodies will be critical to avoid further delays.

Officials have held coordination meetings that highlighted persistent issues in land acquisition, tendering and interdepartmental execution, and they intend to prioritise remaining tasks and monitor contractors more closely. The coming months are expected to be decisive as authorities seek to speed up construction while maintaining quality and safety standards. Failure to meet targets could leave key access routes and river crossings incomplete when the festival begins.

Based on present figures for the 35 major works, roughly 70 per cent remains to be finished and public representatives have questioned how many sanctioned projects have actually started. Authorities will need to compress schedules and streamline approvals to achieve completion by the deadline, and residents will be watching execution closely.