Tree Protection Is Essential’: Bombay High Court Pulls Up Pune Municipal Corporation Over Tree Felling Notices

Mumbai,February 9, 2026: Emphasising that urban tree conservation is vital for ecological balance, the Bombay High Court has strongly criticised the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for treating public notices related to tree felling as a mere formality. The court directed that public notices seeking permission for tree cutting must be clear, detailed, and informative, and should not be issued as procedural rituals without substance.

The court further ordered that these directions should be circulated to all municipal corporations across Maharashtra, ensuring uniform implementation of proper tree protection norms.

A division bench comprising Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande expressed serious displeasure over PMC’s “formalistic approach” to tree protection. The bench observed that PMC’s notices fail to meet the mandatory standards under Section 8 of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Tree Protection and Preservation Act, 1975, and lack crucial public information. The court made it clear that such notices must not be treated as a routine administrative process.

Environmental and Social Value of Urban Green Cover

Referring to a famous quote by American poet Khalil Gibran, stating that “trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky,” the court highlighted that the 1975 Tree Protection Act recognises the ecological and social importance of protected urban green spaces.

The court underlined that citizens must be provided with complete and transparent information, including:

* Location of the trees

* Reasons for proposed felling

* Authority recommending the cutting

* Purpose behind the proposal

Requiring citizens to search for such details on PMC’s website, the court said, defeats the very purpose of public notices and weakens public participation in environmental decision-making.

Case Background

The case arose from a petition filed by Abhijit Anturkar, challenging PMC Tree Authority’s 2020 approval to cut four coconut trees in the Erandwane area of Pune.

The petition argued that:

* PMC failed to follow the mandatory objection-seeking process

* Notices were merely published and pasted on trees

*Newspaper notices lacked essential details

* The statutory process of inviting public objections was not properly implemented

Taking serious note of these lapses, the High Court issued strict observations and directions to PMC, reinforcing that tree protection cannot be reduced to administrative formality and must follow the spirit and letter of the law.