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PMC denies sanctioning road work on Baner-Pashan hills; area residents claim debris shows otherwise
PUNE: After locals and environmental activists complained about the sudden dumping of rubble and debris to create a road cutting through the Baner-Pashan hills, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Smart City officials on Tuesday visited the area and assured citizens of removing the debris and acting against those responsible for it
PUNE: After locals and environmental activists complained about the sudden dumping of rubble and debris to create a road cutting through the Baner-Pashan hills, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Smart City officials on Tuesday visited the area and assured citizens of removing the debris and acting against those responsible for it.
Initially, members of Vasundhara Abhiyaan, an NGO working in the field of the environment, and the locals brought the dumping of debris to the notice of the authorities. “We were on our weekly survey of tree plantation on the hills when we noticed that a lot of debris and rubble had been piled high alongside the narrow road from behind the Pan Card club. We climbed up only to see that the rubble had been flattened to look like a kuchcha road and immediately alerted the citizens of the area and called the authorities,” said Deepak Shrotri of Vasundhara Abhiyaan.
Meanwhile, officials of both the PMC and Smart City on Tuesday said they had not authorised any work on the road.
Arun Godbole, chief engineer, PSPDCL, said, “We stopped work on July 6, 2019 and no work has been allowed since. All excavations were carried out on land excluding the BDP (bio-diversity park) area. Only 40 to 70 metre under the BDP was touched, which is less than 0.5% of the total BDP area. We have decided to reassess and align the road with the existing road, thus protecting the hills. We have not given any permission for this road.”
Dinkar Gojare from the PMC road department said, “The PMC has not awarded any tenders or orders for any road to be developed in this area as we do not have the budget. This is not sanctioned by us.”
Sandip Khalate, assistant commissioner of the Aundh ward office who was on site with his engineers and surveyed the area along with corporators Ganesh Kalamkar and Prahlad Saikar, said that he would write to the health department to clear the debris and rubble before it caused any harm due to the rains.
Following these assurances, the residents then filed a complaint against those responsible and sent letters to the PMC and Smart City to take further action.
Back in 2019, the residents had similarly raised an alarm over Smart City’s plan to build a road alongside the tekdi, cutting across its slopes. At the time, Rajendra Jagtap, the then chief executive officer of the Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited, had given in to the residents’ demands to protect the Baner-Pashan hills and agreed to reconsider constructing the road and compromising the hills that were part of a BDP area. “We had then too stated that we are not against the road but we need to protect the hills and need to reassess the need for an 18 metre road as against the recommendation of a nine metre one,” said Vaishali Patkar, a resident.
