Pune: Sahakarnagar-Dhankawadi Leads in Green Cover, Bhavani Peth and Kasba-Vishrantwadi Lagging As Per PMC Environment Status Report
Pune, 4th August 2023: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) recently released its Environment Status Report (ESR), revealing significant variations in green cover across different areas of the city. According to the report, Sahakarnagar-Dhankawadi ward office area boasts the highest green cover, while Bhavani Peth and Kasba-Vishrantwadi areas have the lowest.
A remarkable 11.95 lakh trees thrive in the Sahakarnagar-Dhankawadi regions, almost three times more than other neighborhoods where the tree count is below 5 lakh. Overall, the city boasts a total of 51.37 lakh trees comprising 1,662 different species. Of these, 973 species have been identified as major trees, shrubs, weeds, vines, algae, and fungi.
The Taljai hills and Parvati areas showcase the maximum green cover. Meanwhile, areas like Aundh-Baner, Kothrud-Bavdhan, Shivajinagar-Ghole Road, Ahmednagar Road-Wadgaonsheri, and Mundhwa each have between four to five lakh trees.
However, the ESR highlights a concern for the city’s central part, encompassing Bhavani Peth and Kasba-Vishrantwadi areas, which exhibit the lowest green cover, with 12,546 and 35,426 trees, respectively.
Ashok Ghorpade, the Head of PMC’s garden department, clarified that the report is based on ward-wise tree counts. Regarding the possibility of planting trees in Peth areas, he stated, “Technically, it is difficult to plant trees in Peth areas, and the availability of land for garden development is limited. This presents challenges in maintaining tree count in these areas. Nonetheless, the garden department is actively organizing tree plantation drives to bolster the city’s tree population.”
The city boasts a total of 211 public gardens and three botanical gardens operated by PMC. The Ganeshkhind Garden at Savitribai Phule Pune University has been designated as a biodiversity heritage site. Notable among the botanical gardens are Empress Botanical Garden in Camp, housing over 2,000 different tree species, Experimental Botanical Garden in Koregaon Park with around 400 tree species, and Savitribai Phule Pune Vidyapeeth Botanical Garden, spreading across 5 acres, featuring approximately 664 plant and tree species.
Below are the tree census data based on PMC’s civic wards:
- Yerwada-Kalas-Dhanori: 2,56,430 trees
- Kondhwa-Yewalewadi: 2,27,248 trees
- Bibwewadi: 1,29,856 trees
- Dhole Patil Road: 2,85,469 trees
- Dhankawadi-Sahakarnagar: 11,95,894 trees
- Warje-Karvenagar: 1,89,241 trees
- Kasba-Vishrambaug: 35,426 trees
- Wanawadi-Ramtekdi: 1,97,459 trees
- Aundh-Baner: 4,58,695 trees
- Kothrud-Bawdhan: 4,88,965 trees
- Shivajinagar-Ghole Road: 4,76,546 trees
- Bhavani Peth: 12,546 trees
- Nagar Road-Vadgaonsheri: 4,86,025 trees
- Hadapsar-Mundhwa: 4,99,757 trees
- Sinhagad Road: 1,64,045 trees
