SC formal order awaited, Pune civic body to speed up Environment Clearance for proposed Balbharati-Paud Road

“Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram inspected the Balbharati-Paud Road along with officers from the Road Department. During the inspection, the alignment of the road and the overall condition of the site were reviewed. He also gathered information on which parts of the road will be elevated. During this visit, the Commissioner instructed the officials to urgently apply for and obtain Environmental Clearance (EC) at the earliest,” said Pawaskar.

PMC Commissioner Ram also gave directives to plant the necessary trees in large numbers. Additionally, on land under the municipal corporation’s jurisdiction, he planted trees to inaugurate the plantation drive. The commissioner emphasised the importance of planting native and rare tree species. He also said it is essential to promptly commence work on the road project in order to resolve the existing traffic congestion on current roads.

Petitioner Sushma Date, who is leading from the front to save the Vetal Hill, said the Supreme Court is yet to issue the formal order on the case challenging PMC’s plan to construct Balbharati-Paud road.

“The Supreme Court’s formal order on the Balbharati road is not out yet and already the municipal commissioner is talking about fast tracking on EC. The municipal commissioner spent the weekend inspecting the disputed road and the road department turned up in full force,” said Date.

According to Date, PMC has said it has started doing compensatory planting for the trees that will be cut for the road. “Looks like PMC plans to cut down 2,000 trees on Law College slope of Vetal Tekdi which is open to the public and do compensatory plantation on the other side, in a private property,” she added.

Plantation drive

The municipal corporation as per the instructions received from the Centre to implement the campaign Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam (A Tree in Mother’s Name). These efforts aim to reduce pollution in the city, revive and conserve rivers.

On Sunday, under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam initiative, a tree plantation event was organised by PMC at a private site alongside the proposed Balbharti-Paud road. As many as 500 local species trees such as Kadu Limb (Neem), Khirni, Kadamba, Moh, Bael, Pangara, etc., were planted during the event.

In May, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) conveyed to the Maharashtra Government that no construction activity be undertaken for the Balbharti-Paud Phata road project until the matter is considered by the Supreme Court. In a communication to the chief secretary, CEC specifically instructed that no work should be carried out in areas that are “Deemed Forest” through which the proposed 2.1 km road alignment passes.

The directive followed a representation submitted in March 2024 by members of Vetal Tekdi Bachav Kruti Samiti (VTBKS), a citizen’s collective, seeking CEC’s intervention to prevent irreversible ecological damage to the hill slope and forest ecosystem of Vetal Tekdi.

The petition challenged the Pune Municipal Corporation’s plan to proceed with the project as a temporary traffic decongestion measure, arguing that it has failed to truly comply with the Bombay High Court Order of 2016 mandating both a need assessment and an environmental impact assessment before any decision to proceed.

In response to this petition by VTBKS, CEC conducted a site visit and subsequently submitted its report, which is currently under consideration by the Supreme Court. The Maharashtra Government was directed to maintain a status quo and ensure that no activity is undertaken in the area until the Supreme Court delivers its decision.