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350 trees to be razed in Pimpri-Chinchwad for riverfront development project
Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation will cut down up to 350 trees along the Mula river in a riverfront development project, but claims the exotic trees will be transplanted and more than 2,700 trees will be planted to increase the green cover. The project will cost around ?276.5 crore ($37 million) and will be completed in three years.
For the riverfront development project, up to 350 trees along the Mula river in Pimpri-Chinchwad would be cut down. According to officials, the exotic trees will be transplanted, and the civic body will plant more than 2,700 trees on the riverbed to increase the green cover.
Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has finalised the tender for the Mula river rejuvenation project and the development will be carried out on the 8.80-kilometre stretch starting from Wakad bypass to Sangvi. A total of 1,000 trees are there along the stretch out of which 350 trees will be felled. However, civic officials claim the number is likely to increase after the actual development work starts.
Sanjay Kulkarni, joint city engineer, who heads the environment department at PCMC, said the tender is finalised and will be allotted to the contractors soon. “There are a total of 1,000 trees on this riverfront and out of which 350 trees will be felled. Out of these trees, we will transplant the exotic trees. The number of these exotic trees is likely to be around 300,” he said.
The project is likely to cost around ₹276,54, 00,000 and will be completed in three years. There are several old, rare, exotic trees and vegetation along the riverbed. The civic body has conducted a census of trees on this stretch.
Kulkarni said PCMC will plant around 2,700 native trees on the project to increase the green cover and beautify the riverbed. “Both the transplant and plantation will be done on the riverbed of the same stretch. However, the exact number of trees that will be affected can be learned only when the work starts,” he said.
The second phase of the project will be carried out by PCMC on the stretch from Sangvi to Bopkhel. This stretch is around 5.40 kilometres, out of which a 2.50-kilometre stretch is under the College of Military Engineering. The cost for the development of the second phase is likely to be ₹250 crore, said officials.
