Citizens take on PCMC tree authority on new felling, transplantation plans

Indian Express

3 days ago

A heated public hearing over the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's (PCMC) plan to fell thousands of trees along a nearly nine km stretch, from Wakad to Sangavi, for the Riverfront Development (RFD) project took place at the PCMC Garden Department in Bhosari on Monday. More than 100 citizens confronted Mahesh Gargote, garden superintendent of the PCMC and member-secretary, Tree Authority, and his team over the plan that they described as environmentally detrimental and full of legal violations.
The public hearing comes after the PCMC issued a public notice on July 24, 2025, announcing the plan. In the days that followed, almost a thousand citizens mobilised to email their objections to the PCMC. They pointed out that 'This section of the Mula Riverbank is an ecological hot-spot, home to mature, native trees that form an integral part of the riparian ecosystem. These old-growth trees provide critical habitat for a variety of wildlife, including peacocks, hornbills, painted storks, turtles, and otters. The tree removal would result in irreversible habitat destruction and severely disrupt the river's delicate ecosystem'.
On Monday, citizens raised their voices in person. Prajakta Mahajan of the Pune River Revival group was among the citizens who conducted spot checks on the trees. She showed the officials videos and images of the site, pointing out that 'PCMC said they would remove one tree and retain the one next to it, which is impossible as the roots of these old-growth trees are tangled'.
'Then, there are some trees that are half in water. You are saying that these three trees will be retained. How can you retain those trees if you are going to build embankments? How is it possible?' she asked the officials. She told The Indian Express, 'There are thousands of trees that will be impacted. We were given only a week and, if you consider this hearing, 10 days. It was impossible for us to check all the trees so we carried out a spot check in two areas.'
In response to questions by some other citizens, Gargote said that trees would be transplanted in the defence area of Aundh and that 80 per cent transplantation efforts are successful – but citizens challenged these claims.
Pushkar Kulkarni, a citizen, pointed out to the PCMC a Supreme Court judgment asking the state and Union Territories to form individual committees to identify any more deemed forests in their respective states and Union Territories. 'We don't know whether the government of Maharashtra has formed that committee yet and whether they have carried out the exercise as per the Supreme Court directives for Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad or PMR region in the whole,' Kulkarni said at the hearing.
He had already issued a notice to PCMC chief Shekhar Singh 'asking if a committee has been formed and a survey on the riparian zone carried out'. 'If it is a deemed forest, there is no question of PMC or PCMC carrying out any tree cutting, removal or plantation either. They are not supposed to do anything in the deemed forest,' said Kulkarni. On Monday, he served Gargote, who is a member-secretary, Tree Authority, PCMC, with the notice. 'Now my advocates will do the needful. They will issue further notices from their side and we will see whether PCMC responds or complies,' Kulkarni told The Indian Express.
Ameet Singh, an environmental activist and researcher, told PCMC officials that they had not followed the laws and provisions in the legal framework. 'The property belongs to the water resources department and the irrigation department. Those clearances have not been taken. Yet, they are pushing ahead with this project and felling all these numerous trees which are actually a riparian forest, so, they are an ecosystem by themselves. These trees are being felled just because they want to encroach on the cross-section of the river with the agenda of building a road and recreational spaces that citizens have not asked for. This is taking away the flood resilience of the city. If you see the recent circumstances, where we have been suffering from so much urban flooding. The only recourse that we have to mitigate urban flooding is the river,' he said..
Singh added that the docket that the PCMC has issued about the tree felling and transplantation plans was made without scientific study or methods. 'We want that the docket to be scrapped,' said Singh.
Gargote said that they had taken note of all objections. 'A lot of suggestions have also come by email. We have taken notes on all the suggestions that were made by the people. We will compile these and any other suggestions for reforms that might come in. We will place these before our higher authority,' he said.
Dipanita Nath is interested in the climate crisis and sustainability. She has written extensively on social trends, heritage, theatre and startups. She has worked with major news organizations such as Hindustan Times, The Times of India and Mint. ... Read More