Pune Hills Construction Ban: Green Pune Movement Rallies Citizens, Demands Strict Enforcement of Biodiversity Park Protection
Pune, 26th April 2025: The Green Pune Movement (GPM) has issued a strong warning against any attempts to alter Pune’s Biodiversity Park (BDP) reservations, vowing to block all construction on the city’s iconic hills and slopes. As the Maharashtra government’s committee, led by former civic chief Ramanath Jha, reviews the boundaries and regulations for BDP and Hill Top-Hill Slope (HTHS) zones, GPM and thousands of Pune residents have united in protest, demanding uncompromising enforcement of no-construction policies to safeguard the city’s vital green spaces.
GPM’s campaign has rapidly gained momentum, with over 25,000 citizens signing online and offline petitions in just days, reflecting widespread public resistance to any policy changes that could open the hills to real estate development. Environmentalists, students, and residents have joined forces, collecting signatures across housing societies, parks, and community groups, and plan to submit their demands to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in early May.
Citizens and activists argue that the hills, protected as BDP since 2015, are essential for Pune’s ecological health, acting as carbon sinks, groundwater recharge zones, and natural buffers against climate change. They warn that any relaxation of the no-development zone will result in irreversible environmental damage, increased urban heat, and further loss of biodiversity. GPM leaders, including former MP Vandana Chavan and urban planner Anita Benninger, emphasise that the hills are the “lungs of Pune,” and call for strict legal protection, immediate implementation of BDP rules, and accountability for past failures in monitoring illegal construction.
The movement’s key demands include halting all construction on hills and slopes, enforcing existing BDP zoning without compromise, compensating private landowners as promised, regular satellite mapping to prevent encroachments, and the creation of a citizen-led Hill Protection Task Force. GPM has also called for the dissolution of the current study group, urging the government to move directly to implementation based on prior official decisions.
Public anxiety has surged following the state’s announcement of a new committee to review BDP regulations, with many fearing a rollback of hard-won protections. GPM warns that any move to permit construction will trigger large-scale protests and legal action, as Pune’s residents remain determined to defend the city’s natural heritage for future generations.
