Excavation work at Pashan hill postponed

PUNE: Bowing to the pressure from citizens, the Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited (PSCDCL) had to stall the excavation work, which was carried out at the foothills of Pashan or Tukai hill last week. Now, it has been decided that suggestions and objections will be invited over carrying out the work, as the area lies near Biodiversity Park sanctioned in the Development Plan (DP) of 2005.

PSCDCL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rajendra Jagtap said that the road for which the excavation work was carried out was a part of 2005 Development Plan (DP). However, a committee of officials and citizens will be set up to discuss the issue and the hill will not be cut henceforth.

A discussion with the officials of PSCDCL, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and citizens was organised at Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Auditorium, Aundh, on Saturday. Over 200 citizens were present during the discussion. 

On July 14, a signature campaign was organised at the hill to protest against the excavation work. Around 1,276 residents have signed in the campaign. 

Protester and Vasundhara Swachata Abhiyan (VSA) member Deepak Shrote said, “We are not against the development, but the hill should not be cut, as it is the natural recharge zone and an important part of biodiversity. The road must not cut through the hill. If the road is part of the DP, then alterations have to be made in the DP.”

Pushkar Kulkarni, another activist, said, “There is no need to make any road by cutting the hill, as already there are three roads, which lead to Sus.”

Most of the residents agreed that there was no road needed at the foothills but one can be planned one beyond the BDP zone and should be only six to nine metres instead of 18 metres as proposed in the DP. 

After listening to all the suggestions, Jagtap said, “The length of the excavated road is 100 to 200 metres while the total length of the whole patch is 2,100 metres. As of now, all the work at the site has been stopped. The work was carried out according to the DP of 2005, but if citizens do not want the road by cutting the hill, then no such activity will be carried out that would destroy the hill.”

“A committee of citizens and officials will be set up. Suggestions and objections will be heard from the committee and within a week, the decision will be taken,” Jagtap added.

PMC’s Building Permission Department’s Engineer Amar Shinde said, “The DP of 2005 clearly shows that there is a proposed road after the BDP zone and there is only one point where the road cuts into BDP, which is 6 metres wide and 40 metres in length. The alignment was moved in 2005 when the road was cutting through the BDP so that we retain the green zone.”