The expert committee appointed by the Bombay High Court (HC) in December 2023 to handle the sensitive matter of felling trees on Ganeshkhind Road for widening the road and laying Metro line 3, has recommended replantation of the trees being axed. The PMC is optimistic about the expert committee report and plans to present the same during the April 17 court hearing.
Ganeshkhind Road is being widened from the existing 36 metres to 45 metres between Sancheti and Vidyapith. At the same time, the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) is laying Metro line 3 on the same road.
While the PMC tree authority has granted permission for felling 33 trees and replanting 52 trees, NGOs Parisar and Sanrakshan Sanwardhan Sanstha and two individuals have raised concerns over cutting of trees on account of road widening and Metro line 3 and filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in this regard.
In response to the PIL, the Bombay HC appointed the expert committee to look into the matter and recommend the best possible plan so that road widening and the Metro project can be implemented while saving a majority of the trees.
A senior official of the PMC road department said, “We have received the report from the expert committee a couple of days ago. Now, we are preparing our say in the matter. The committee has recommended replantation of the trees being axed. It is a positive sign and we are ready to do so. We are going to submit the report in the Bombay HC during the hearing on Wednesday, April 17. We will know what to do after the HC order.”
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