Rs 35 Crore Tree Census Tender in Pune Put on Hold After Objections by PMC Corporators
Pune, 5th March 2026: The Standing Committee of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to put on hold a ₹35-crore tender for conducting a tree census in the newly merged villages within the expanded civic limits. The move comes in response to objections from committee members who questioned the necessity of such a high expenditure of public funds for the exercise.
The tender, aimed at carrying out a comprehensive GIS-based tree census in the areas added to PMC following recent expansions, faced criticism during the Standing Committee meeting. Members argued that the work could be executed more economically by leveraging the resources of the civic body’s own Garden Department, along with support from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private institutions.
Standing Committee Chairman Shrinath Bhimale confirmed the suspension of the tender, stating that the decision was influenced by concerns over the bidding company. “Objections were raised regarding the company that had submitted the bid,” Bhimale said, highlighting issues that prompted the committee to pause the process for further review.
This development follows ongoing scrutiny of a related ₹29.87-crore GIS-based tree census tender awarded earlier to a private company. for covering the broader city area, including newly merged villages. That project, which involves a two-year field census (excluding monsoons) and an eight-year overall contract, has already drawn allegations of rule violations, lack of transparency, potential favoritism, and inflated costs.
Critics have pointed out that the previous tree census—initiated in 2014 and completed only in 2024—makes the timing and scale of the new initiative questionable, especially without a finalized development plan for the merged areas.
The latest hold reflects growing demands for fiscal prudence and accountability in PMC’s environmental projects. Activists and opposition voices have long raised doubts about tree data accuracy, with past censuses (such as the 2019 count of around 4.09 million trees) facing discrepancies when cross-verified against satellite imagery and independent studies showing actual tree cover loss in parts of the city.
