No construction of Pune's Balbharati-Paud Phata Road till Supreme Court's decision on inspection report: Apex Court panel to state
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Pune: The Supreme Court-constituted
Central Empowered Committee
in a letter on Friday requested the Maharashtra chief secretary to ensure that no construction is carried out in "
deemed forest
" area as its report on the proposed
Balbharati-Paud Phata Road
is pending consideration before the apex court.
"The matter is under consideration by the Hon'ble
Supreme Court
. It is requested that no construction work is carried out in 'deemed forest' in violation of the Hon'ble Supreme Court's judgment in the T N Godavarman vs Union of India & Ors. Case (1996) and subsequent orders, and Rule 16 (1) of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023," stated the letter by CEC chairman Siddhanta Das.
The letter came in response to a representation by Sumita Kale and others from the Vetal Tekdi Bachav Kruti Samiti (VTBKS) that sought the committee's intervention to prevent "serious environmental destruction of the forest and hill slope on Vetal hill" for the construction of the (2.1km) Balbharati-Paud Phata Road by
Pune Municipal Corporation
(PMC).
As a planning authority, PMC has proposed the Balbharati-Paud Phata Road with an objective to decongest the traffic from Balbharati to German Bakery Law College, Aathle Chowk and Paud Phata. Environmental activists have been opposing the plan for years now on the grounds that the proposed road would be no solution to resolving the traffic congestion but would only cause huge environmental harm to the hill.
On March 2, 2024, Kale and others had approached the Supreme Court-constituted Central Empowered Committee with a plea to stop construction of the proposed road.
The committee then deputed its member, Sunil Limaye, to assess the situation on ground and get first-hand information and views about the Balbharti-Paud Phata Road from all stakeholders.
A joint meeting of the applicants, project proponent (PMC) and the forest department was held on April 5, 2024, and followed by two site inspections on April 12, 2024, and April 15, 2024. Based on a detailed note by Limaye about the assessment exercise, the Central Empowered Committee member secretary, Banumathi G, placed a report on Sept 19, 2024, before the Supreme Court and the same is pending final decision by the court.
TOI on Friday made calls and sent a message to state chief secretary Sujata Saunik seeking her response on the matter. However, there was no response till the time of going to press.
Aniruddha Pawaskar, head of the PMC's road department, told TOI: "We are waiting for an official copy of the Central Empowered Committee letter and our administration will take a call on future course of action after due legal consultation.
We will follow the Supreme Court's directives in the matter."
The Central Empowered Committee report to the Supreme Court has elaborated in details various aspects of the issue and concluded, among other things, that constructing the Balbharati-Paud Phata Road Road "will not be a permanent solution to the present problem" and that construction of the proposed road shall not be permitted to save the forest and biodiversity of the area.
It stated: "It is a principle proven multiple times world over that more roads do not give permanent solutions to traffic problems.
In fact, they lead to more vehicles on the roads which again results in larger traffic congestion."
The report has suggested a slew of alternatives and the need to provide an efficient and adequate public transport system, requisite traffic management and good last mile connectivity with mass transit systems.
VTBKS member Prajakta Divekar said: "We hope the state govt actively protects Vetal Tekdi as the natural heritage of Pune in the wake of the Central Empowered Committee report."
Pune: The Supreme Court-constituted Central Empowered Committee in a letter on Friday requested the Maharashtra chief secretary to ensure that no construction is carried out in "deemed forest" area as its report on the proposed Balbharati-Paud Phata Road is pending consideration before the apex court.
"The matter is under consideration by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. It is requested that no construction work is carried out in 'deemed forest' in violation of the Hon'ble Supreme Court's judgment in the T N Godavarman vs Union of India & Ors. Case (1996) and subsequent orders, and Rule 16 (1) of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023," stated the letter by CEC chairman Siddhanta Das.
The letter came in response to a representation by Sumita Kale and others from the Vetal Tekdi Bachav Kruti Samiti (VTBKS) that sought the committee's intervention to prevent "serious environmental destruction of the forest and hill slope on Vetal hill" for the construction of the (2.1km) Balbharati-Paud Phata Road by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
As a planning authority, PMC has proposed the Balbharati-Paud Phata Road with an objective to decongest the traffic from Balbharati to German Bakery Law College, Aathle Chowk and Paud Phata. Environmental activists have been opposing the plan for years now on the grounds that the proposed road would be no solution to resolving the traffic congestion but would only cause huge environmental harm to the hill.
On March 2, 2024, Kale and others had approached the Supreme Court-constituted Central Empowered Committee with a plea to stop construction of the proposed road.
The committee then deputed its member, Sunil Limaye, to assess the situation on ground and get first-hand information and views about the Balbharti-Paud Phata Road from all stakeholders.
A joint meeting of the applicants, project proponent (PMC) and the forest department was held on April 5, 2024, and followed by two site inspections on April 12, 2024, and April 15, 2024. Based on a detailed note by Limaye about the assessment exercise, the Central Empowered Committee member secretary, Banumathi G, placed a report on Sept 19, 2024, before the Supreme Court and the same is pending final decision by the court.
TOI on Friday made calls and sent a message to state chief secretary Sujata Saunik seeking her response on the matter. However, there was no response till the time of going to press.
Aniruddha Pawaskar, head of the PMC's road department, told TOI: "We are waiting for an official copy of the Central Empowered Committee letter and our administration will take a call on future course of action after due legal consultation.
We will follow the Supreme Court's directives in the matter."
The Central Empowered Committee report to the Supreme Court has elaborated in details various aspects of the issue and concluded, among other things, that constructing the Balbharati-Paud Phata Road Road "will not be a permanent solution to the present problem" and that construction of the proposed road shall not be permitted to save the forest and biodiversity of the area.
It stated: "It is a principle proven multiple times world over that more roads do not give permanent solutions to traffic problems.
In fact, they lead to more vehicles on the roads which again results in larger traffic congestion."
The report has suggested a slew of alternatives and the need to provide an efficient and adequate public transport system, requisite traffic management and good last mile connectivity with mass transit systems.
VTBKS member Prajakta Divekar said: "We hope the state govt actively protects Vetal Tekdi as the natural heritage of Pune in the wake of the Central Empowered Committee report."
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