‘1,800 trees will not be chopped for Nashik Kumbh Mela, we will undertake their transplantation,’ says Kumbh Mela commissioner
The Kumbh Mela administration is planning to set up a 1,200-acre Sadhu Gram colony for saints from the Vaishnava sect in the Tapovan area of Nashik, and some trees have to be reportedly axed for the project.
Citizens and environmentalists protesting against felling of trees in Nashik. (Express Photo)
Even as nature lovers, citizens, actors and environmental groups have launched protests against the proposed felling of 1,700-1,800 trees to set up facilities for sadhus for the upcoming Kumbh Mela in Nashik, Kumbh Mela Commissioner Shekhar Singh Sunday denied that there was any plan to hack down a large number of trees.
“No, we will not axe 1,800 trees as is being speculated. The number of trees to be felled is far less. Less than half the number… Unnecessary rumours are being spread. The final figure of trees to be axed has not been decided. But I can say that the number of such trees is much, much lower,” Singh told The Indian Express.
It has been learnt that the Kumbh Mela administration is planning to set up a 1,200-acre Sadhu Gram colony for saints from the Vaishnava sect in the Tapovan area, which is under the jurisdiction of the Nashik Municipal Corporation. There will be some facilities for devotees, as well as a Disaster Management Control Room. The official flag-hoisting ceremony, marking the start of the Kumbh Mela, will take place on October 31, 2026.
Mentioning the Sadhu Gram project, Singh said, “Some trees might have to be taken out. We are not planning to remove old trees… There is no reason to remove them. People are taking pictures after climbing the trees… They are resorting to a Chipko-type movement. We will not remove the trees; we will retain them.”
“There are some varieties of trees that can be transplanted elsewhere. But some of them cannot be transplanted and only those will have to be axed,” he added.
Singh said for every tree that will be axed, they plan to plant 10 trees.
Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan, who visited Nashik last week, had defended the decision to fell trees. “Kumbh Mela will attract saints and devotees from across India and the world… Sadhu Gram is being developed by the Nashik Municipal Corporation, for which trees are being cut. The nature lovers have opposed it,” Mahajan told media persons in Nashik after meeting protesters.
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Stating that Nashik has limited space for the Kumbh Mela congregation compared to Prayagraj, the minister laid emphasis on balancing infrastructure requirements with ecology. “The number of saints and devotees expected is many times higher than previous Kumbh Melas. Therefore, planning is necessary. Some trees will be cut and some transplanted,” he added.
Environmentalist Yogesh Barve of the Kapila River Conservation Committee claimed that large trees were never hacked down for hosting Kumbh Melas in the past in Nashik. “Now, even centuries-old banyan, tamarind, and peepal trees have been marked. If 100-year-old trees are cut, we will protest,” he said.
Asked about the charge of environmentalists, the Kumbh Mela commissioner said there is no question of cutting down old trees. “Only trees that will affect our plan to set up facilities will be cut. And if possible, they will be transplanted elsewhere,” he added.
Actor Sayaji Shinde, who is a member of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, said they will not allow a single tree to be cut. Criticising Mahajan, Shinde said, “The minister has made an irresponsible statement… We will not allow the government to cut even one tree.”
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Meanwhile, the local civic body is set to hear over 500 objections that it has received from environmentalists over its proposal to fell trees.
Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives.
Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees.
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