E-Paper
Koregaon Park residents oppose tree cutting for new Sadhu Vaswani ROB
The PMC is planning to demolish the existing, two-lane Sadhu Vaswani ROB at Koregaon Park and build a four-lane ROB in its place
In the wake of the controversy around tree cutting at Ganeshkhind Road, residents are now objecting to the proposed razing of 61 trees for construction of the new Sadhu Vaswani rail overbridge (ROB) at Koregaon Park and demanding that the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC’s) road and garden departments save the heritage trees.
The PMC is planning to demolish the existing, two-lane Sadhu Vaswani ROB at Koregaon Park and build a four-lane ROB in its place. The demolition of the existing ROB that connects Koregaon Park to the Pune Cantonment area is set to begin in March. During its survey, the PMC project department found 61 trees to be in the way of the proposed ROB due to which it has submitted a proposal to the Dhole Patil Road ward office, seeking permission to cut down these trees.
Amit Singh, a resident of Koregaon Park, said, “About 50 bridges have been built in the city but the traffic situation hasn’t improved. A new bridge needs to be built here without causing traffic problems. We’re asking the municipal corporation to construct an iron bridge to save the trees.”
Rohan Desai, who lives at Koregaon Park, said, “Rather than cutting down the trees, the PMC should explore alternative plans to preserve the trees and address traffic issues. It’s becoming too common to cut trees for road expansion in Pune. This practice needs to end.”
Guruswami Tumale, assistant superintendent of the PMC garden department, said, “After receiving the proposal, local residents raised objections through emails and applications and demanded a joint visit by the project department and garden department officials and applicants. Accordingly, we conducted a joint visit on Saturday. The project department officials showed us the trees that are creating obstacles to the new ROB.”
One of the officials of the project department said, “Out of the total 61 trees, we have to cut down nine trees including five Banyan trees near the BARTI (Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute) office and new government circuit house. These trees are coming in the way of the ROB alignment. We will replant the remaining 52 trees. Residents are demanding that we shift the alignment of the ROB instead or construct two lanes which is not possible. However, we are trying our best to save most of the trees.”
Tumale said, “Banyan trees are heritage trees (As per the state government’s Tree Protection Act, any tree with an estimated age of 50 years or more is considered a heritage tree). Therefore, we have given the option to trim down the branches of the trees instead of cutting them. The remaining 51 trees fall in the category of ornamental plants and we will replant them in the nearby gardens. We have scheduled the next hearing on February 13. We haven’t given permission to the project department yet.”
In the past one year, the PMC has cut 500 trees for various development projects. As per the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975 Amendment, it is mandatory to replant trees equivalent to the age of the trees that are felled. But the PMC does not have a record of the replantation of trees.
In December 2023, a bench of chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and justice Arif Doctor while hearing a petition filed by Parisar (NGO), ordered the setting up of a committee to find a solution so that a minimum number of trees would be razed during the widening of Ganeshkhind Road. The PMC and Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) have undertaken road widening work as a part of the metro rail and flyover construction.
