Pune: After Environmentalists Raise Alarm, PMC Halts Unauthorised Hill Excavation in Kothrud

Pune, 3rd November 2026: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has stopped unauthorised excavation and land-levelling work on a hill slope in the Sutar Dara area of Kothrud and issued a notice to the landowners, following criticism from environmentalists over the civic body’s alleged failure to act despite the use of heavy machinery in broad daylight.

The work was underway on plots bearing Survey Nos. 113/1 and 113/2, classified as hilltop-hillslope land. Excavation was being carried out using a JCB machine to level the slope, followed by the erection of a boundary fence. Videos of the activity circulated on social media, prompting environmentalists to question how the civic administration had failed to notice the work despite it being carried out openly.

Environmentalists also approached the forest department, which clarified that the plots fell within the PMC limits.

“After the matter came to our notice, civic officials immediately inspected the site. As the landowners did not have the required permission from the PMC, a notice was issued directing them to stop the work. The activity has since been halted and further inquiry is underway,” said city engineer Aniruddha Pawaskar.

Former MP and advocate Vandana Chavan has sought a detailed inquiry into the incident, approaching municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram and Pawaskar with a representation.

Chavan on Monday warned the PMC against allowing excavation and hill cutting in different parts of the city, saying the administration should stop such activities immediately or face protests.

In her representation to the civic chief and city engineer, she questioned why the PMC was not implementing provisions requiring satellite imagery of hills to be captured and verified every six months, as per government directives, to monitor and protect hill areas.

She also sought verification of whether the excavation on Survey Nos. 113/1 and 113/2 in Sutar Dara had the necessary permissions, the land-use classification of the plots under the development plan and whether the work complied with the conditions of any approvals granted.

Meanwhile, questions have also been raised over the authenticity of the stop-work notice. The building permission department reportedly showed an acknowledgement of the notice, but the document was neither printed on the PMC’s official letterhead nor did it carry an official seal. It was handwritten on plain paper and bore the signatures of a junior engineer and a building inspector from the building development department.