Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishor Ram has stayed the decision to cut 467 trees near Avenue CityPride in Kothrud, putting on hold a road-widening plan that had received approval from the civic tree authority in September 2023. The move follows strong opposition from local residents and comes after the Pune Municipal Corporation cited a lack of available land for replanting the trees that would be removed.
The trees are located on Survey Nos. 12/2 and 12/5 in Kothrud. The road in this area is identified as a 20-metre-wide road in Pune’s Development Plan. PMC had surveyed the trees because they were obstructing the proposed widening work.
According to the report, the civic administration’s plan involved completely removing 149 trees and transplanting the remaining 318. The proposal was approved by the PMC road department through the tree authority committee around three years ago. Permission to cut the trees was granted in September 2023, but the civic administration did not take further action after that approval.
The commissioner’s stay means that the proposed tree removal will not proceed at this stage. The immediate issue for the civic administration is the availability of suitable land for transplanting the trees. The PMC cited the absence of such land as the reason for suspending the earlier decision.
The development places two existing civic priorities in direct conflict: implementing a Development Plan road-widening proposal and retaining mature trees in a densely built-up part of Pune. While the road has been planned at a width of 20 metres, the available report does not provide details of the proposed widening’s length, project cost, construction schedule or expected traffic benefits.
It also does not specify whether the PMC will revise the road design, identify new land for transplantation or bring a fresh proposal before the tree authority. The earlier approval covered the removal of 149 trees and transplantation of 318, but no subsequent implementation was reported after September 2023.
The stay follows opposition from citizens and leaves the road-widening proposal awaiting the civic administration’s next decision. Any further action will depend on the PMC’s assessment of transplantation sites and its response to the objections raised over the removal of the trees.