Amid rampant tree felling, citizens accuse PMC garden department of neglect
According to the Residents Association of Mundhwa, a builder cut fully grown trees at the site opposite to the regional passport office located on the main BT Kawade Road
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) garden department is under fire for unchecked tree felling at Mundhwa, Ghorpadi, NIBM Annexe, Mohammed Wadi and Undri. Last week, several trees were razed at Mundhwa and Ghorpadi to make way for hoardings while a fully grown tree was axed in Undri a few days ago. Residents made calls to garden department officials at various ward offices but only got the cold shoulder from the concerned staffers. They alleged that while notices were served to persons identified for axing trees, others were let off.
According to the Residents Association of Mundhwa, a builder cut fully grown trees at the site opposite to the regional passport office located on the main BT Kawade Road. The garden department served notice to the builder who did not take any further action, the residents’ association members alleged.
On the night of March 17, unidentified persons axed two trees near Shankar Temple close to the Mundhwa-Kharadi river bridge which falls under the jurisdiction of the Hadapsar regional ward office. A local resident objected to the tree cutting and later complained to the tree department at the Hadapsar ward office. Thereafter a panchanama was carried out but no action was taken, residents informed. Garden inspector Yogesh Badhe, in-charge of the Hadapsar division, said, “Two trees were illegally cut in the Mundhwa riverbed area. We have conducted a panchanama and a notice has been issued. A reply has been sought from the concerned person involved in the act and based on the reply, further action will be taken,” Badhe said.
In another incident, a fully grown tree in Yeolewadi was axed in broad daylight, putting a serious question mark on the abilities of the garden department to end the rising menace of tree cutting in the NIBM Annexe-Mohammed Wadi- Undri area. Social worker Jaymala Dhankikar, who had filed a case with the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), said, “According to the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees (Amendment) Act 2021, cutting, burning, or damaging trees without permission is a punishable offence. A huge tree was illegally cut down in the Yeolewadi area and no action was taken by the garden department. As per the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Tree Protection and Conservation Act 1975, cutting, pruning, or damaging trees in urban areas requires prior approval from the Tree Authority. Section 8(1) of Chapter 5 of the Act explicitly states that no individual or entity can cut down or damage any tree without obtaining permission from the competent authority. Currently, temperatures in the city are soaring above 40 degrees Celsius and trees are being illegally brought down without any fear of the law which is a major cause for concern,” she said.
