Controversial Approval: Pune Municipal Corporation Permits Cutting of Heritage Trees in Warje-Karvenagar Area

Pune, 16th July 2023: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) recently submitted a proposal to the Maharashtra Tree Authority (MTA), seeking approval to cut down or transplant 33 heritage trees in the Warje-Karvenagar area for a private project.

This move has ignited a wave of criticism, considering the MTA’s prior permission to chop off or transplant over 11,000 trees across the state between December 2022 and mid-June this year.

Experts are raising concerns about the inadequacy of compensatory plantations and tree transplantations in effectively offsetting the loss of mature trees. They argue that the ecological impact of removing such a significant number of trees could be severe.

Nevertheless, the MTA approved the project under certain conditions. It stipulated that the proponent must make efforts to conserve as many heritage trees as possible and transplant them to suitable locations. Additionally, the MTA insisted that the proponent should plant new native trees with a combined age equal to that of the trees being cut down or transplanted. Consequently, the state tree authority granted permission to cut 33 heritage trees, provided that all the conditions are met. The minutes of the MTA meeting stated, “The proponent must carry out a compensatory plantation of 2,164 native trees.”

Ecologists and concerned citizens have emphasized the potential adverse ecological consequences of allowing the removal of such a large number of trees. The decision to give the green light to this project has sparked widespread debate and raised questions about the long-term environmental impact of such actions.