Trees of Pune’s riparian zones get a breather as direction issued to ‘exercise restraint on tree-felling’ for RFD project

Jaikumaran’s letter comes in the context of a Supreme Court order from March 2025 that states and Union Territories must identify and document all deemed forests within six months. The states are to collect this list from all the districts. Citizens in Pune are waiting to find out if an expert committee constituted by the state has carried out an evaluation of deemed forest land in the riparian zones.

If the state documents the riparian zones as deemed forests, it would strengthen the citizens’ fight to protect these spaces from ongoing destruction. “At present, the civic bodies put tree-cutting notices as if these are isolated trees on a roadside. But, if the riparian zones are officially considered as forests, it won’t be easy to rampantly destroy the ecosystem. The civic bodies will have to follow the processes of deforestation, which are more difficult,” says Prajakta Mahajan, a citizen associated with the Pune River Revival, which works to safeguard rivers and other natural resources of the city.

Studies have been conducted and there have been marches and protests. Citizen groups have knocked on the doors of government authorities and the courts to stop the civic bodies of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad from felling trees in the riparian zones.

“This is an important letter and we hope the rich riparian zones in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad are protected. This is important for our health and our future,” said Bhagwat. Other citizens, who are working with the environment, say that the letter marks “an important step forward in the conservation of riparian forests”. “This official intervention is a significant step toward protecting Pune’s ecologically sensitive riverbanks while the legal and scientific evaluation of these lands is underway,” they said.