Over 40 trees axed in Narhe; locals cry foul

Residents allege green cover was not coming in the way of road widening exercise; had forest dept nod, says officer; promises to plant some 140 saplings in nearby land

Inone more reckless act of hacking trees, the gram panchayat authorities of Narhe village have allegedly mowed down some 42 fully grown trees on the pretext of widening the approach road to the town.

The news comes close on the heels of yet another huge setback for the city’s green activists. A recent study released by India State of Forest Report (ISFR), a biennial publication of Forest Survey of India (FSI), has stated that both the city and Pune district have reportedly lost some 32 sq km of forest cover in just two years, the biggest loss the state has seen in the past couple of years. Rapid urbanisation coupled with indiscriminate hacking of trees in the name of development have been put forth as the root cause of the dismal finding.

Locals have alleged that all the trees that had to face the axe were thriving along the side of the main road and were not creating any hurdle to the road widening exercise. They have further accused that none of the hacked trees will be replanted at the same spot or at a nearby patch. Residents of the area have lamented that the chopped trees will not be replanted, but new ones planted in some forest land located some five kilometres away from the original spots.

Inhabitants of the village have now raised the issue with the forest department and the gram panchayat, demanding that the green cover be restored at the same spot. They have also stated that the foliage used to offer commuters refuge from the scorching sun during the hot summer months when the concrete roads would get heated up as well.

Talking about the hacking, Prashant Salunkhe, resident of Trimuti Palace Society, said, “These trees were not even coming in the way of the construction. Except for a handful of them, which had to be moved, the other trees could have been saved. Many of them could have been transplanted at the same spot. The authority, however, did nothing to save the tiny patch of greenery.”

“Most of the trees were more than two decades old. The 40-ft widened concrete road has no gap left for the trees to be replanted,” he further alleged.

Putting forth his point, Dr Vikram Gaikwad, resident of Vilochan Housing Society, said, “As per the Maharashtra Felling of Trees (Regulation) Act, 1964, it is mandatory to plant trees along roads and highways to provide shelter to motorists and pedestrians alike. Thanks to rapid urbanisation, towns like Narhe and Ambegaon are fast losing their green covers.”

“These small patches of foliage were our only source of fresh oxygen amidst grit and dust. We want our greenery back. Planting new saplings somewhere else will not solve our problem of inhaling polluted air,” he rued.

When asked, Balasaheb Gawde, village development officer of Narhe village, justified, “Since the road urgently needed to be widened, we removed some 42 trees. We tried to save as many of them as possible. We do have permission from the forest department to go ahead with the hacking.”

“Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) is in charge of constructing the road. However, being a civic body, we had the responsibility to have all the needed permits in place. We have already identified the forest land where we plan to grow some 140 plants,” he added.

“We even have plans to plant new saplings along the approach road,” Gawde informed.