Pune: Mulshi builder must plant 2400 trees, informs forest dept 

Owner and Developer fined 8L for illegal demolition of over 800 trees under the name of ‘development’, must compensate by planting 2400 saplings in the upcoming rainy season – Santosh Chavan. 

• Dnyanada Sagare 

17 April 2024

Pune – In a shocking incident which was reported from Mulahi, a private builder had carried out illegal demolition of over 800 trees under the name of development. 

As many as eight hundred trees had been cut down in this area and 40 people including Atul Sathe and Babasaheb Buchde, owners and developers of AB Developers, have been fined Rs eight lakhs by the Paud (Mulshi) Forest Division.

Adhering to sections 3 and 8 of the Maharashtra Tree Cutting (Regulation) Act, 1964 and the Maharashtra Land Revenue (Regulation of Right to Trees etc.) Amendment Act 2017, Forest Division Officer Santosh Chavan imposed a fine of Rs. 8 lakh was imposed, counting Rs 1,000 per tree.

“All I have to say is that requesting legitimate permission and approval to do such things, is always better. If the matter is handled legally, we will always dig deeper and provide a rational decision based on our guidelines. A Range Forest Officer also has the right to confiscate the cutting tools and machinery used to destroy the trees illegally.” 

• Santosh Chavan, Range Officer

If the accused fail to plant 2400 saplings, they will be asked to pay monetarily for the expenses of the saplings, and the further plantation will be undertaken by the Forest Department.

All this was possible due to a complaint registered by the Vasundhara Social Upliftment Tree Planting and Tree Conservation Co-operative Society near Duttawadi to The Mulshi Forest Department on March 7th stating that over 400 trees planted by the society in 2016 along with 400 naturally grown trees on its six hectares of land were felled by the accused in the last few years …

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