Maharashtra State Forms Committee To Review Pune’s Floodline, Civic Activists Demand Halt to Riverfront Project
Pune News: Save Mula River Trees: Last Date To Oppose PCMC Plan Is July 30
In response to directives from the high court, the state government of Maharashtra has established an eight-member supervisory committee tasked with scrutinizing previous actions concerning Pune city’s floodline. Comprising experts from the water resources department and other relevant sectors, the committee is mandated to deliver its report within four weeks.
The committee, chaired by the additional chief secretary of water resources from Mumbai, includes key officials such as the principal secretary of urban development and the executive director of Maharashtra Krishna Basin Development Corporation, among others. Additional experts may also be invited to contribute to its findings.
Civic activists have intensified calls for a temporary suspension of the Mula-Mutha riverfront development project until the committee submits its report. This project, aimed at beautifying the 44-kilometer stretch along the riverbank, akin to the Sabarmati River in Gujarat, commenced in 2018 with an approved budget of ₹4,727 crore. Currently progressing in eleven phases, the project’s initial phase, funded by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) at ₹700 crore, is underway.
Phase 9, managed by Shirke company, covers a 3.7-kilometer segment from Sangamwadi to Bund Garden, with 63% completion. Meanwhile, phase 10, spanning 5.3 kilometers from Bund Garden to Mundhwa, features a 30-meter-wide road through Koregaon Park, managed on a public-private partnership basis by J Kumar Company, reaching 25% completion. Despite these advancements, acquiring a 2.5-kilometer forest department land stretch remains pending for the Bund Garden to Mundhwa section.
The committee’s responsibilities extend to assessing national and other state floodline procedures, devising a comprehensive plan for Pune’s floodline demarcation, and implementing measures aligned with the court’s directives concerning a public interest litigation (PIL) initiated by Sarang Yadwadkar.
Civic activists are demanding that the Mula-Mutha riverfront development project be put on hold until the committee’s report is submitted Source:
