Pune: Supreme Court Halts Balbharati–Paud Phata Link Road Through ILS Hill Pending Environmental Clearance
Pune: Supreme Court Halts Balbharati–Paud Phata Link Road Through ILS Hill Pending Environmental Clearance
New Delhi, October 16, 2025: The Supreme Court on Wednesday put a temporary stop to the construction of the ILS Hill Road project, also known as the Balbharati–Paud Phata link road, which was proposed to pass through the Indian Law Society (ILS) campus and Law College Hill in Pune. The stay will remain in effect until the project receives environmental clearance.
A bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to expeditiously decide on the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) application for environmental clearance. The court stressed the need to maintain a balance between urban development and environmental conservation.
“We direct that the project shall not be commenced unless environmental clearance is granted by the EIA authority,” the bench stated. Considering the prolonged delay in the project, the court instructed that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process be completed promptly.
The case stemmed from petitions filed by environmentalist Sushma Date and the Indian Law Society, which owns a large part of the land through which the proposed road alignment passes.
Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Anitha Shenoy argued that the road would cut through the ILS campus and Law College Hill, describing it as an ecologically sensitive “virgin forest hill” with over 400 species of trees and a natural aquifer that helps recharge groundwater in western Pune. She emphasized that PMC’s consultants had recommended a comprehensive four-season environmental study instead of a single-season assessment to capture the area’s full biodiversity and hydrological significance.
Representing PMC, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the project, stating that it was part of the city’s approved development plan and therefore did not require separate clearance. He argued that the road alignment had been designed to minimize ecological impact, affecting only the lower contours of the hill, not the forested summit.
However, the bench questioned this justification, pointing out that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had previously ruled that a similar project with the same alignment required an EIA. “If the NGT required an EIA for a road with the same alignment, why not for this one?” the court asked.
Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat, representing the Indian Law Society, informed the court that a status quo order issued by the Bombay High Court in 2005 regarding the acquisition of ILS land for the road remains in effect. He added that Law College Hill has been preserved for nearly a century through continuous afforestation efforts and serves as one of Pune’s last remaining green lungs, playing a crucial role in maintaining the city’s ecological balance.
