Citizens protest against felling of trees for riverfront development plan
The civic body has asked citizens to submit suggestions and objections within seven days. Activists and environmentalists claim that the information made available online for the project is insufficient
The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s (PCMC) public notice issued on February 21 regarding felling of over 439 trees and replantation of 681 for the Riverfront Development (RFD) Project phase-I on the Wakad Bridge to Sangvi stretch has attracted opposition from citizens. The civic body has asked citizens to submit suggestions and objections within seven days. Activists and environmentalists claim that the information made available online for the project is insufficient.
Many environmentalists and green activists from Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune visited the PCMC office to check the documents of the proposed tree cutting and transplant for the RFD project. They claimed that the civic body published the notice without doing homework and relied solely on suggestions given by the project consultant.
Prashant Raul, a green activist, said, “The civic body has no expert committee whom they can consult before taking decision on such sensitive issues. The civic administration has no details about the age, location, geo-tagging and other important information about trees that will be cut and those that will be transplanted. Officials have deliberately not mentioned email address on the notice to cut down the number of public suggestions and objections for the proposed tree cutting. The design is insensitive, and the project cannot go ahead without removing the trees and still, the cross-sectional design was made and approved.”
Environmentalist Ravindra Sinha said that Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had issued a similar notice seeking suggestions and objections for about 7,300 trees to be cut and retransplanted in 2023.
“The government has specified about 18 conditions that have to be complied with as per the environmental clearance. The civic body’s notice has been issued without having the environmental clearance and any compliance,” he said.
Umesh Dhakne, assistant commissioner, garden department, PCMC, said, “The project proposal carries details about the trees. Public suggestions and objections will be considered. The proposal will be presented before the tree authority for approval.”
