Favouring the implementation of the Riverfront Development (RFD) project on the banks of the Mula-Mutha river passing through the limits of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), authorities as well as elected representatives are pushing for its speedier implementation. “The court as well as the NGT [National Green Tribunal] have given clearance to the project. Work on the project is going on as there is no stay,” Murlidhar Mohol, Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation and Pune MP, said. The RFD project has been facing opposition from environmentalists and residents who have raised concerns over the damage to the ecology of the river and the increasing chances of floods during the monsoon. Mohol claimed that there was not much opposition to the RFD project. “Everyone is free to express their opinion in a democracy. Any extreme stand will not result in resolving public issues. Moreover, people at large are liking the project,” he said, adding that a balance has to be found between the environment and development. Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni, however, has raised concerns about the RFD project with the authorities, she said. “The issues of RFD encroaching upon the riverbank and the cutting of trees, which the citizens raised, are grave concerns,” said Kulkarni. While the PCMC chief defended the RFD project, saying that several such projects were carried out globally, a PMC officer said that the RFD project was being implemented as per the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and conditions laid down by government agencies and courts. “A part of the RFD stretch will be opened for the public this year and people will like it,” the PMC officer said, adding that the project was not only about beautification but also about conserving the river while ensuring the safety of localities alongside it. “One thing I want to put on record is that projects like these have been undertaken throughout the world, from New York to Paris to London. All cities end up draining their rivers. It is nothing new that we are trying to do,” Shekhar Singh, PCMC Commissioner, said. He added that the RFD project in Pune has adopted several best practices from the Sabarmati Riverfront Development project in Ahmedabad. Several critics of the RFD project have alleged that the civic bodies were trying to decorate the river with concrete instead of cleaning it. Singh denied the allegation. “We need to remember that it is not a totally engineered section that we will do. It is not that we are making the bank concrete. We have divided it into three sections. One is the rural Riparian section, where a lot of land is available, and where we are keeping the bank as natural as possible, with only rock pitching, and so on…trying to get in grasses that are native. There is nothing exotic or from outside. Then, there are a few urban-rural Riparian sections, where it is mixed. So, a lot of density is right next to the river, where we need to take a little bit of a different path. Then, there are very dense areas, where some engineered concrete sections need to come in,” he explained. About the protests that are taking place around the RFD project, Singh said that people had approached the NGT. “We got the environment clearance for the Mula project but some people went to NGT. The NGT case went on for almost a year. The GT then disposed of the case, saying that the environment committee at the state level needs to review the clearance. The committee re-looked at it and has now approved the project. We are going ahead as far as that re-looked clearance is concerned,” said Singh. One of the major components of the RFD project is flood protection, he said. “That is why you see these bindings. Bindings happen throughout the world. It is not happening for the first time in Pune. We have been doing bindings for rivers for centuries to protect the areas from floods. Some people are saying that we are reducing the carrying capacity of the river, which is not factual. Through binding, we are, in fact, increasing the carrying capacity of the river,” said Singh. Another concern raised is regarding the felling of trees. “Tree cutting will only happen as far as the Tree Authority Department permits. We will not be cutting or transplanting any tree without permission. Most of the trees, like Gliricidia, have been mandated to be removed by the government because they are an exotic and invasive species. Among the 100- or 200-year-old trees, the focus is to transplant them and not uproot them,” he said. Singh said that the RFD project was being implemented as per the DPR and regulations and “we are not going to violate any of those”. “I feel that we have tried to take all precautions. Still, we are open to suggestions…to whatever people feel can be done best in this framework. Jeevitnadi [an organisation] said that we need to work on a few springs in the river. We have started to coordinate with them,” he said.
