Hinjewadi residents raise alarm over tree chopping

PUNE: Akash Dwivedi was driving down Hinjewadi-–Maan Road on Sunday afternoon when he saw some men cutting down trees with a chainsaw.
“I immediately stopped to click pictures. When the men saw me taking photographs, they objected. I asked them if they had permission to cut the trees, but they provided some lame excuses,” he said.
After failing to get a proper response, he raised the matter with residents in the area. But the damage had been done by then. The entire canopy of trees on the road had been chopped off, leaving only the stumps.
“The trees were not causing any obstruction. The branches were not hanging low or dangerously. I don’t understand why they were cut. It takes years for trees to grow, but only a few minutes to chop them off,” said a perplexed Dwivedi.
Residents and IT professionals from the area pointed out that trees were illegally chopped along the road earlier as well. But the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), under whose jurisdiction the area falls, had provided a stock response that the trees had been trimmed. Such illegal chopping of trees in the area should stop, they demanded.
Ravindra Sinha, a member of Hinjewadi IT Residents Welfare Association (HIRWA), said, “The trees were completely fine and I don’t know why they were chopped. I had sent a message to the MIDC, but did not receive any response. I found out about it after some citizens shared photos on Hinjewadi WhastApp groups.”
Nilesh Modhave, executive engineer of MIDC, confirmed that it had not granted permission for trimming trees in the area. “I went to the spot to check and found out that one or two low hanging branches of one or two trees had been cut. I have asked officials to find out who has cut the trees. We have not filed any complaint yet, and are yet to decide on any action,” he said.
However, Shankar Pandey, a regular commuter and member of Hinjewadi Hill Green Army, said, “The pictures that are being circulated are evidence enough that the trees have not been trimmed, but chopped off.”
“This is not the first time that we have seen such instances in Hinjewadi. Last year, all the trees along a halfa-kilometre stretch were cut off. Then some months ago, a similar incident occurred along a 300-400 metre stretch near Infosys. Every time we approach the MIDC, we receive the same response — the trees had been trimmed,” said Pandey.
Private and government infrastructural projects have been eating into the greenery in Pune district, which has lost 26 sqkm of forest cover in two years. The district’s forest cover reduced from 1,734 sqkm in 2015 to 1,708 in 2017, a State of Forest Survey 2017 conducted by the Forest Survey of India in Dehradun states. In a statement to TOI in February this year, deputy conservator of forests, Pune, Rangnath Naikade had said forest land in Pune is being diverted for projects. “Forest land in the district is often diverted and used for non-forest purposes. Land in areas like Hinjewadi, Junnar, Bhor and other areas has been reserved for irrigation projects, road development, by MIDC and others,” he said.
Other areas that have suffered include Shivajinagar, Taljai, Parvati, Waghjai, Ambegaon Pathar and Mulshi.