The Pune Municipal Corporation’s Parks Department has urged residents not to cut branches or damage trees while collecting apta leaves for Dussehra, warning that unauthorised tree cutting can attract a fine of more than Rs 1 lakh.
The department said branches of mango, apta, kanchan, shami and other trees are often cut in large numbers during Vijayadashami. The festival tradition involves exchanging apta leaves as symbolic gold, but the civic authority has appealed to residents to observe the practice without harming trees.
According to the department, cutting trees without permission or causing damage to them is a legal offence under the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees (Amendment) Act, 2022. The law provides for a penalty exceeding Rs 1 lakh for such violations, the department said.
The civic appeal asks residents to collect leaves without breaking branches and to use symbolic alternatives that do not injure trees. The warning places responsibility on residents as well as on the municipal administration, which is responsible for protecting trees in Pune’s urban areas.
The Parks Department has also asked citizens to report unauthorised tree cutting or damage to trees to the Pune Municipal Corporation’s Tree Authority. Complaints can be submitted online through the civic body’s official complaints website, www.complaints.pmc.gov.in.
The department’s warning comes ahead of Dussehra and is intended to limit festival-related damage to trees in the city. It has not announced any additional enforcement schedule, but said violators would face action under the applicable tree-protection law.
