Nashik Municipal Corporation will develop the Sadhugram site at Tapovan for the Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2027 without cutting trees, as a National Green Tribunal stay on the proposed tree felling remains in force and preparations for the religious gathering accelerate.
The civic body had earlier proposed removing around 1,700 trees to facilitate the development of Sadhugram, the designated area where thousands of sadhus and seers are accommodated during the Kumbh Mela. The event is held in Nashik every 12 years.
Municipal commissioner Manisha Khatri said the corporation would follow the tribunal’s directions while carrying out 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 original tree-felling proposal triggered opposition from environmental groups and residents, who argued that the temporary and permanent infrastructure required for the Kumbh should be planned around the existing green cover. The civic body received around 600 representations after inviting suggestions and objections to the proposal.
Public hearings were held in November 2025, but several activists remained dissatisfied with the plan. Shriram Pingle, a lawyer from Pune, subsequently approached the Western Zone Bench of the NGT in Pune, challenging the proposed removal of trees for the Sadhugram project.
During a hearing on December 12 last year, the tribunal imposed an interim stay on tree felling at Tapovan. The stay was initially in force until January 15 this year and continues pending a further hearing scheduled for the first week of December, according to the report.
With less than nine months remaining before the Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2027, the NMC has decided to proceed with the site’s development rather than wait for the legal dispute to be resolved. Officials said the layout and infrastructure planning would be modified wherever necessary to protect existing trees and comply with environmental regulations.
The revised approach places the immediate construction schedule within the limits set by the tribunal. The NMC’s next major milestone is the further NGT hearing in the first week of December, while the civic body continues adapting the Sadhugram plan to the existing site constraints.
