Nashik Municipal Corporation will develop the Sadhugram site at Tapovan for the Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2027 without cutting trees, after the National Green Tribunal’s stay on the proposed felling remains in force. The civic body will modify the project layout and infrastructure planning to work around the existing green cover.
Sadhugram is the designated accommodation area at Tapovan for thousands of sadhus and seers attending the Kumbh Mela, which is held in Nashik every 12 years. The municipal corporation had earlier proposed cutting around 1,700 trees to make space for the event facilities, but the plan faced opposition from environmental groups and local residents.
Municipal commissioner Manisha Khatri said the civic body would follow the tribunal’s directions while proceeding with the project. “We have decided to develop the proposed Sadhugram at Tapovan without cutting the trees as the NGT’s stay on tree felling continues. If the stay is not lifted, the project will be executed within the existing constraints. We will fully comply with the court’s directions,” she said.
The decision follows a public consultation process in which the NMC received around 600 representations after inviting suggestions and objections to the proposed tree-felling plan. Public hearings were held in November 2025, although several activists continued to oppose the proposal.
The legal challenge was filed by Shriram Pingle, an apex court lawyer from Pune, before the Western Zone Bench of the NGT in Pune. The tribunal granted an interim stay on tree felling at Tapovan during a hearing on December 12 last year. The stay was initially in force until January 15 this year and continues until the next hearing scheduled for the first week of December.
With preparations for the 2027 Kumbh Mela gathering pace, the NMC has decided not to wait for the legal dispute to be resolved before beginning development work. Officials said the site layout and infrastructure plan would be modified wherever necessary to protect the existing trees and meet environmental regulations.
The shift places the project under two immediate constraints: the civic body must accommodate the large-scale requirements of a major religious gathering while retaining the trees covered by the tribunal’s order. The NMC has not disclosed the revised layout, the specific infrastructure changes or whether the modifications will alter the project’s cost and implementation schedule.
The next major institutional milestone is the NGT hearing expected in the first week of December. Until then, the civic body’s stated position is to proceed with Sadhugram development within the existing site constraints and without tree felling.
