E-Paper
Maha-Metro seeks land for compensatory plantation of 41,000 trees
Maha-Metro plans to plant 41,000 trees to offset the impact of ongoing Metro projects in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, with 2,386 trees identified for transplantation.
Maha-Metro has approached multiple government agencies seeking land to undertake compensatory plantation of around 41,000 trees likely to be impacted by ongoing and upcoming Metro expansion projects across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
Metro work is currently underway on key extensions such as Swargate-Katraj, Vanaz-Chandani Chowk and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)-Bhakti-Shakti (Nigdi) whereas phase 2 corridors — including Ramwadi-Wagholi/Vitthalwadi (line 2B), Khadakwasla-Kharadi and Nal Stop-Warje-Manik Baug — have also been initiated to improve connectivity and ease congestion.
According to project data, a total 2,386 trees have been identified for transplantation across these corridors. As per the provisions of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975 (Amendment 2021), this translates into the need to plant nearly 41,000 saplings, calculated based on the cumulative age of the affected trees.
For the Kharadi Chowk–Dandekar Pul stretch (line 4), as many as 855 trees have been identified for transplantation with a requirement to plant 14,454 saplings. The Deshpande Udyan-Khadakwasla section accounts for the second-highest impact with 513 trees identified for transplantation requiring 9,596 saplings. Whereas the Swargate-Katraj extension will see 401 trees affected, requiring 5,627 saplings. The Nal Stop-Daulat Nagar corridor (line 4A) will require 5,302 saplings against 313 trees. Civic officials said that line 4 and its extensions account for the largest share of tree loss, underlining the scale of environmental mitigation required for phase 2. Other stretches, including the PCMC-Nigdi north extension and line 2 corridors account for a relatively smaller share of the total impact.
Atul Gadgil, executive director of Pune Metro, said that the authority has begun the process of identifying land for plantation. “We have written to various state and central government departments, seeking land for compensatory plantation. These include agricultural institutions, universities, defence establishments, as well as forest and revenue departments, besides the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and PCMC,” he said.
Meanwhile, the PMC said that it has so far received limited proposals for tree cutting. Ashok Ghorpade, chief superintendent of the PMC garden department, said, “We have received a proposal for permission to cut 742 trees so far. No additional proposals have been submitted yet.”
Officials said that the new 2025-26 guidelines issued by the union environment ministry have tightened norms for compensatory plantation. These mandate that the number of saplings planted must equal the cumulative age of the trees removed, along with strict digital monitoring of plantations.
Maha-Metro had earlier planted around 21,000 trees during phase 1 along Metro corridors 1 and 2.
