6 days Ago
Pune: Members of Green Pune Movement , citizens and environmentalists, along with former MP and mayor Vandana Chavan, have appealed to the civic body to stand with them in the fight against construction on hills. Extending their support to areas reserved as biodiversity parks (BDP), citizens and environmentalists on Saturday called on the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to join them in their cause. "Every development plan prepared by PMC highlights conservation of hills, but their safety is in question today.
We will submit a letter to the civic body to join the citizens and place a demand before the state govt to ensure that the reservation of areas remains untouched. As temperatures climb year-on-year, natural ecosystems, like that of hills, are essential for the city's climate resilience and public health," Chavan said at a press conference in the city. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune The decision to mark certain areas as biodiversity parks was passed unanimously by PMC general body and supported by then state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in 2015.
Of the approximate 1,600ha of land marked as biodiversity park, about 958ha belongs to private owners. In 2018, the govt announced that they would give compensation to landowners, based on recommendations made by the Jain committee. However, according to those fighting for reservation, this has not happened yet.
"We need to preserve the open spaces in our city. These areas, reserved as BDP are catchment areas, play a crucial role in cooling urban landscapes and act as carbon sinks. Preserving them is crucial.
The govt must think of ways to ensure that the city functions sustainably and that development happens, but without compromising on the environment," Chavan said. In lieu of recently established Jha committee, presided over by former IAS officer Ramanath Jha, members of Green Pune Movement (GPM) and other citizens dedicated to preserving nature, started an online petition and even collected signatures in hard copy. In total, 25,000 signatures have been collected since the campaign started a little over a week ago.
These signatures will be formally submitted to PMC to register citizens' opposition. Urban planner Anita Gokhale Benninger said, "The law is already in place and a new committee is not needed. We simply need the govt to implement the plan that already exists.
If anything is changed from what is previously decided, the nature of the development plan itself changes. While planning, there is a 60% to 40% ratio that must be maintained. The 60% is built environment, which includes buildings, other infrastructure, roads, flyovers and other amenities.
The remaining 40% has to be the natural environment, which is the existing hills, mountains etc. This balance of built and natural environment is crucial for quality of life." Amey Jagtap, a member of GPM, said, "Our demands are simple.
We want the previously ratified BDP reservation to be implemented without any delay. We also demand that there must be absolutely no construction allowed on hilltops or hill slopes, other than that regularised before Dec 31, 2022 and the cancellation of the recently established study group." Appointment of a dedicated monitoring squad and regular satellite mapping to prevent encroachment, along with formation of a hill protection task force with participation from citizens, were some of the demands made by GPM.
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