Huge branches of over four trees inside a Hadapsar housing society were illegally trimmed without the permission of the tree authority of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for a sports event on Saturday. Officials from the PMC Hadapsar ward office visited the housing society, and will issue a show cause notice to it, officials said.
As part of preparing for a cricket tournament organised inside Vardhanman Township Society Campus, Hadapsar, the organisers trimmed huge branches of over four trees. All these tree branches were illegally cut without the permission of the tree authority of the PMC, violating the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975. Under the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, the punishment for illegal tree cutting is a fine of ₹10,000 and imprisonment ranging from one to three months, said PMC officials.
A society member on condition of anonymity, said, “The builder is the owner of the garden since it is a common amenity and although the buildings have been individually registered, the common amenities have not yet been handed over. Some members without any permission from the PMC hacked nearly half the trees under the pretext of trimming, citing obstruction to the game.”
Vilas Dhoble, horticulture inspector of the PMC Hadapsar ward office, said that the branches of four trees were illegally trimmed for a sports event. “We have visited the society and prepared a report on the tree trimming. This report has been submitted to the tree authority. No permission was taken from the tree authority for trimming the trees. Big tree branches of Neem and Cluster Fig were reportedly cut illegally. The notice will be issued to the responsible person on Monday,” Dhoble said.
{{/usCountry}}Vilas Dhoble, horticulture inspector of the PMC Hadapsar ward office, said that the branches of four trees were illegally trimmed for a sports event. “We have visited the society and prepared a report on the tree trimming. This report has been submitted to the tree authority. No permission was taken from the tree authority for trimming the trees. Big tree branches of Neem and Cluster Fig were reportedly cut illegally. The notice will be issued to the responsible person on Monday,” Dhoble said.
{{/usCountry}}Abhijit Kore, secretary of the society, said that they are unaware of any trees being trimmed or cut inside the housing society. “No written application was given by the society to the PMC to trim or cut any trees inside the society campus. Even no application was received by the society from members requesting to trim any tree branches inside the society. I will check with the organisers of the tournament if they have trimmed any trees inside the society,” Kore said.
Balasaheb Dhawale, tree officer of the Hadapsar ward office and assistant PMC commissioner, said that he is aware of the incident and that action has been initiated. “Further legal action will be taken as per the provisions of the law,” Dhawale said.
Despite repeated attempts, Subhash Bafna, developer of Vardhaman Township could not be reached.