Pune citizens rally against felling of 1,00,000 trees

In response to the imminent threats facing Pune’s trees, concerned citizens at Puneसंवाद have launched a petition on Jhakaa.org with a call to ‘Save 100,000 trees in Pune!’ 

The campaign urges the Pune Municipal Corporation to fully enforce the Maharashtra Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, adhere to the High Court’s December ’23 order to halt tree cutting, conduct a comprehensive tree census and set up an expert committee to deliberate saving the trees while also executing the road widening and metro work. 

The petition emphasises the indispensable role of trees as life-givers, offering vital air purification, shade, pollution control, and sustaining a rich tapestry of wildlife. The campaign was launched in view of the upcoming large-scale infrastructure projects, like the River Front Development project along the Mula Mutha, with thousands of trees being felled, compromising vital riparian forests crucial for water purification and biodiversity, the push for an 8-lane, 30-meter road from Manjari to Shivajinagar is threatening the existence of 10,000 old-growth trees at the Bundgarden Joggers Park and many more projects that pose a grave threat to Pune’s biodiversity and green spaces. 

Citizens have rallied to protect 393 old-growth trees along Ganeshkhind Road against the looming threat of felling, advocating for alternative solutions to safeguard these invaluable assets. The Pune Tree Authority also held a Public Hearing on February 13 to discuss the fate of the trees near Sadhu Vaswani Bridge and Ramtekdi Flyover. 

Authorities plan to slaughter these trees to double the bridge’s width during the widening process. At the hearing, citizens argued that the proposed widening is unnecessary as there is no traffic congestion at the location. They stated that even if widening is needed for future traffic considerations, a 4-lane bridge would be adequate. 

However, the authorities plan to expand the bridge to 3 lanes on both sides. Citizens have called this decision arbitrary. The road and projects department members responsible for cutting, planting, and transplanting trees across the city were present at this meeting. But no alternative designs have been proposed by the tree authority, the roads department, or the projects department. This is in violation of the Maharashtra Tree Act, which mandates the provision of alternative designs to incorporate existing trees for all projects. 

At the public hearing, citizens also highlighted the issue of 56 trees that authorities had previously uprooted at the North Main Road end, claiming that they would transplant them at Hadapsar Industrial Estate. However, there is no evidence of these trees being transplanted or surviving. Notably, progress has yet to be made on compensatory afforestation for the 19,000 trees lost over the past two years. 

The urgency to protect Pune’s green spaces is paramount to prevent irreversible damage that exacerbates air pollution, urban heat, and flooding. Authorities must promote eco-friendly building practices for well-designed roads, create plans for world-class public transport and integrate trees into architectural designs. 

Here is the link to the petition- https://bit.ly/3HPiu1t

Ameet Singh, Founder of Puneसंवाद, says, “There is a continuous effort by the roads department to take down Pune’s tree cover on all arterial roads. We have seen this on Ganeshkhind road, where over 93 trees were felled only to provide a turning radius for construction equipment. The fact is, with some effort, all the trees can be saved. At Sadanand Hotel, they want to widen the road from 86 metres at present to 98 or 100 metres. If they can’t solve traffic jams with an 86-metre, 26-lane wide road, including service roads, what good is adding another four lanes and 12 metres going to do? Urban Planning is counterintuitive; you can make huge wide roads and have polluting pools of traffic going nowhere, or you could build tree-lined lanes and avenues compound it with efficient public transportation and cycle lanes. Good health for everybody & a great life with all doing very well and being equally fulfilled. Urban planning, just like life, is about choices.” 

“I have witnessed the rampant tree cutting across the country over the last few years. When we see a tree being felled, we may think it is just this one or these ten trees, but these add up to unbelievable numbers! Imagine our urban spaces without any green cover. As our summers get hotter, air pollution gets worse, and monsoons get more erratic, we may sit and wonder what we could have done to prevent our lives from becoming like this! And the time to act on it is now. We can ensure it doesn’t get worse by fighting for our green cover and holding our elected representatives accountable. Our health and survival depend on innovative and sustainable solutions,” said Marishia, a climate and Air Pollution Campaigner at Jhatkaa.org 

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