The fight for Pune’s green heart: A city’s soul vs 6 minutes of saved commute

For more than 40 years, Punekars have rallied to save Vetal Tekdi – the city’s highest hill, a green lung thick with trees, birdsong, and clean air. It’s where thousands walk and birds find rest. Each time the hill has faced the axe of development, citizens have risen in protest, forcing authorities to step back.

Now, that legacy of resistance is being tested again. 

Three projects – the Bal Bharati–Paud Phata (BBPP) road, twin tunnels, and a high capacity mass transit route – threaten to slice through this fragile urban forest. 

Experts warn of irreversible damage: at least 7,000 trees will be lost, groundwater recharge zones disrupted, and wildlife corridors fragmented. But the Pune Municipal Corporation has pushed tenders and revised plans.

A long-standing struggle for Vetal Tekdi

On July 14, 1982, Pune resident Lata Shrikhande received a pivotal letter from DP Gupta, then Director General of Road Development, confirming that plans to build a highway across Law College Hill – part of the beloved Vetal Tekdi – had been scrapped following widespread public opposition.

Punekars saw this as proof that civic voices could protect their green heritage, named after Vetal Baba, seen as a form of Lord Shiva.

But decades later, the same battle returned under harsher terms. On April 10, 2023, a group of citizens were even mocked by BJP leader and Pune Guardian Minister Chandrakant Patil over their concerns. “If you love jungles so much, I will build you homes in Gadchiroli,” he reportedly told them, the group alleged. 

The project never died. 

It had been renewed in 1996 by a general body resolution of PMC; formalised in the 2007-27 Development Plan, with environmental and traffic studies prepared between 2017-2021. Now, concerns have only deepened with recent reports of PMC’s plans to fast-track the road project.

The Bal Bharati–Paud Phata (BBPP) road project had first appeared in Pune’s 1982 draft development plan for 1987–2007. Such plans, prepared by municipal corporations and approved by the state government, usually cover 20 years. However, because the proposed road cut across the Vetal Tekdi hill complex, it immediately faced opposition. The citizen campaign succeeded when DP Gupta confirmed the project would be scrapped. The road was removed from the 1987 plan.

However, in 1996, PMC revived the project through a general body resolution. By 2000, the forest department began warning PMC and the district administration that the proposed road passed through forest land and could not proceed without central government permission. 

There were several letters informing that parts of the land were forest areas.

A letter from the Deputy Conservator of Forests on March 31, 2000, stated that Survey Nos. 49 to 53 qualified as forest under a 1996 Supreme Court ruling.

Another letter on July 16, 2001, reiterated that Plot No. 97 in Survey No. 53, near the Indian Law Society College, was forest land, and no non-forest activity could take place without central approval. In 2003, Assistant Conservator of Forests Hanmant Dhumal told the Bombay High Court that Survey Nos. 96 and 97 were reserve forests and warned that building a road through dense forest would lead to large-scale ecological damage, including the felling of thousands of trees.

Despite these warnings, PMC began construction at Paud Phata in March 2006. 

Later that year, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), constituted by the Supreme Court, also wrote to the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra objecting to the project, stating that constructing a road on forest land would violate Supreme Court orders. But construction continued until the citizen group Nagrik Chetna Manch, led by retired Army Major General Sudhir Jathar, approached the Bombay High Court, which issued a stay order.

The project resurfaced in PMC’s 2007–2027 development plan. But in 2015, the planning committee members appointed by the state government rejected any construction on hills. Committee members Sarang Yadwadkar and Sachin Punekar wrote that hilltops and slopes should be left “open and virgin” with no roads or development of any kind. 

Speaking to Newslaundry, Yadwadkar explained that roads on hill slopes cause “irreversible damage” without solving traffic congestion. “Within a few years, the road will be as choked as any other, but the damage to the hills and environment will be permanent,” he said.

In January 2016, the Bombay High Court struck down the BBPP road project, observing that before destroying a man-made forest, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) must be carried out and reviewed by a committee of experts. Unless such a study proved the destruction of the forest was truly in the public interest, the road could not proceed.

So in June 2018, PMC formed a six-member expert committee, including municipal officials and two independent members – Major General Sudhir Jathar and Prashant Inamdar. The committee was tasked with studying the project’s environmental and traffic impact. PMC also appointed two consultancy firms – VKe Environmental for the EIA and Sustainancy for the traffic survey.

Both the firms favoured the project. 

There is no record of opinions by four PMC expert committee members. However, Jathar and Inamdar, in their review of the EIA and traffic study report, concluded that the road would cause irreversible ecological damage, and would not serve the intended purpose of easing traffic congestion or diversion. 

In his final review report of June 2021, Jathar pointed out that VKe Environmental downplayed the area’s ecological value by calling it a “man-made plantation” with little wildlife. This, he said, despite the consultancy’s own annexure contradicting this, documenting native species like Khair, Moi, Medshingi and Kadulimb, along with 45 bird species, 13 butterflies, five reptiles, and mammals. His report identified 52 percent of the road alignment as areas of high or moderate conservation priority, critical for wildlife corridors, cooling stands, and groundwater recharge. He warned of habitat fragmentation, loss of nesting and feeding sites, and the felling of nearly 1,440 trees, along with losses in ecosystem services such as soil stability, seed dispersal, pollination and carbon sequestration. 

When Jathar asked whether the road would serve as a long-term traffic solution, the consultants admitted that the BBPP road was only a medium-term fix for around 12 years.

Jathar also pointed out that VKe Environmental made no mention of groundwater recharge in its “summary and conclusion,” despite their own hydro-geology report in the annexure admitting that “this area is a useful groundwater recharge zone due to favourable geological formations”.

The hydrology report had also warned that work in this zone should be limited only to the road, as any additional construction could affect groundwater recharge and reduce water availability downstream. 

Prashant Inamdar, a transportation expert, told Newslaundry that the Expert Committee was mandated to oversee the Environmental Impact Assessment and traffic studies, scrutinise consultants’ reports, and submit a final report with recommendations to PMC. Inamdar said after their reviews were submitted to the Additional Commissioner of PMC, who chaired the Expert Committee, a meeting should have been convened to discuss these findings. This meeting should have been followed by a joint session with the consultants. 

However, Inamdar reported that PMC “never convened a full committee meeting, preventing preparation and submission of the final report”. Instead, PMC held internal discussions with officers and consultants, deliberately excluding the independent members. 

In August 2021, PMC even floated tenders for a Detailed Project Report without informing Jathar and Inamdar. 

The move was opposed by Jathar’s Nagrik Chetna Manch in the Bombay High Court. Still, consultancy Enviro Safe was awarded the contract to prepare the DPR and oversee pre- and post-construction work. The DPR was completed by November 2022 with an estimated cost of Rs 252 crore.

And what the DPR suggested was a “completely altered project” – including two elevated roads on pillars along the hill slope, a flyover and underpass at one end, and a large commercial centre and township flanking the road. 

“None of this was part of the original plan assessed in the EIA and traffic studies,” said Inamdar. “It was evident that PMC had already pre-decided the course of action, without giving any regard to the expert committee.”

The DPR pointed to far more construction on the hill than initially disclosed. According to the DPR consultant EnviroSafe, erecting these pillars would require flattening slopes to build access roads. The plan even shows HCMTR project pillars standing in the middle of the BBPP road.

Yet none of this construction impact is reflected in the Environmental and Social Impact Statement, which limits its scope to 500 metres on either side of the grade road. The report even claims that elevated roads will protect the hill from environmental damage, despite the DPR clearly showing widespread construction.

Citizen groups have alleged that PMC is deliberately complicating reports and procedures to obscure the scale of the project, fearing public opposition once the full picture emerges.

In October 2021, the PMC general body also approved the alignment of the High Capacity Mass Transit Route – a ring road – with the BBMP. The Maharashtra government granted approval in 2024.

The other blow

Meanwhile, the other blow was feared from twin tunnels proposed through the hill, connecting Panchvati to Sutardhara and Panchvati to Gokhale Nagar. 

The tunnel idea had first appeared in PMC’s City Development Plan 2013–2041. Responding to pressure, PMC’s Development Plan Committee – then led by Congress and NCP– rejected the proposals in February 2015. The report highlighted that vehicular emissions in tunnels pose serious environmental risks, including the release of harmful pollutants, elevated tunnel temperatures from vehicle heat, and noise and vibration exceeding permissible limits. It also warned that tunnel construction could disrupt underground aquifers, damage crucial groundwater recharge zones, and threaten the habitat of Jatropha Nana (Nana Erand), a critically endangered plant found only on the Pachgaon-Parvati and Vetal Hills. The committee concluded that no development should be permitted on hilltops and slopes and recommended cancelling the proposed tunnel between Panchvati and Gokhale Nagar through Vetal Tekdi.

But after BJP came to power in 2014, the state government took over the Development Plan in March 2015. A committee headed by Divisional Commissioner S Chockalingam revised it, and in January 2017, the Urban Development Department reintroduced the tunnel project.

In April 2018, BJP-led PMC passed a resolution for a feasibility study, floating tenders for the first time. The 2019 shift to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) stalled progress, with feasibility retendered six times until October 2021. The project revived in June 2022 when BJP returned to power, and by February 2023 it was expedited and finalised. 

It is significant that the 2022 pre-feasibility and Environmental Impact Assessment report for the Panchvati–Kothrud and Gokhale Nagar tunnel, prepared by the PMC itself, revealed strong local opposition to the project. Surveys were conducted at five locations – Pashan Panchvati, Gokhale Nagar, Sutardhara, Janwadi, and Wadarwadi – at the proposed tunnel’s entry and exit points. The report found that only 21 percent of residents supported the tunnel, while 79 percent opposed it.

A 2022 study by the Pune-based Advanced Centre for Water Resources Development and Management highlighted the crucial role of Vetal Hill catchments as aquifers. According to the report, Pune’s annual urban groundwater footprint exceeds 100 million cubic meters, sustained largely by a network of 14 basalt aquifers of varying extent and thickness. The study identified the Vetal Hill catchments – particularly the stretch between Nal Stop and the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute – as hosting seven aquifers, four of which are shallow and located between Law College Road and the lower to middle slopes of the hill. Any physical infrastructure in this zone, the study warned, would disrupt the recharge, storage, and flow functions of these aquifers.

Despite its ecological importance, official recognition of Vetal Hill has been inconsistent. In September 2000, the Government of Maharashtra passed a resolution directing PMC to prepare a list of the city’s urban and natural heritage sites, including Vetal Hill. Yet, when PMC issued a public notice on heritage sites in 2018, none of the natural heritage sites, including Vetal Hill, were listed.

It is important to note that, despite these environmental and civic concerns, projects like the proposed tunnels continue to be pushed forward.

But opposition has continued

In March 2024, members of the citizen group Vetal Tekdi Bachao Kruti Samiti approached the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) seeking a halt to the BBPP road project.

A year later, in February 2025, the Bombay High Court disposed of a petition filed by Nagrik Chetna Manch, ruling that if the project required Forest or Environment Department clearance, the PMC must obtain permissions. The court further directed the competent authority to decide whether the land qualifies as “deemed forest” and whether the road truly serves public interest.

In April 2025, citizen activists Sumita Kale and Sushma Daate filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court against this order. The matter is still pending.

Meanwhile, in May 2025, acting on the March 2024 application and a site visit by a CEC member in April 2024, the committee had written to the Maharashtra Chief Secretary instructing that no work be undertaken in “deemed forest” areas along the 2.1 km proposed alignment. It warned that construction there would violate the Supreme Court’s landmark 1996 T N Godavarman v Union of India judgment and the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023.

Pradeep Ghumare, a resident of Panchvati said, “This entire tunnel project is nothing short of a sham. Far from easing traffic congestion or making commuting faster, it threatens to destroy Vetal Tekdi… Over the past 35 years, tens of thousands of trees have been planted here by citizens, schoolchildren, the forest department, and even the PMC itself. All of this effort will be undone if the project goes ahead.”

Usha Rangarajan, a resident of Pashan, said Vetal Tekdi is “critical” for Pune’s ecology. “It sustains one of the city’s largest aquifers, supplying groundwater to surrounding areas such as Pashan, Senapati Bapat Road, Deccan, and Kothrud. It is also one of the largest natural amenities available to citizens in western Pune, serving as a vital green lung and biodiversity hotspot.”

Prajakta Divekar, heritage advocate and member of Vetal Tekdi Bachav Kruti Samiti, said the crux is simple: “People do not want these projects.” She pointed out that the only public input was the 2013 Development Plan hearing, when few realised how massive and costly the projects would become. 

She criticised the pre-feasibility and project studies for downplaying damage, calling mitigation measures a “magic wand” solution. Worse, she said, many politicians did not understand the projects were interconnected. “Some thought there was a choice between road, tunnel, or elevated road. In reality, all are separate projects, all aimed at the same thing.”

At the core, she said, over 2,000 acres of natural land on Vetal Tekdi are viewed as real estate and that it’s “pure greed”. “Roads are just entry points to open up hills for future development.”

Divekar warned that with projects like the ring road already destroying hills, Pune faces ecological disaster. “We are heading towards a water crisis. These hills are natural water tanks, part of our water infrastructure. We cannot recreate them. Despite repeated representations to PMC, Vetal Tekdi is still not formally protected.”

Madhavi Rahirkar, a lawyer and Deccan resident, alleged that PMC’s push for the BBPP road is less about easing traffic and more about benefiting a private township on Paud Road. “Its map surfaced in PMC’s detailed project report…raising eyebrows,” she claimed.

“What troubles citizens are the selective omissions. Environment Clearance has not been obtained for road projects on the hill. The EIA report for BBPP was completed in 2021, but the township approved in 2019 was neither included in the EIA nor shared with the expert committee. Authorities keep pushing the road project, disregarding expert recommendations, altering surveys when errors are flagged, and keeping major alignment changes under wraps. Costs have already shot past Rs 300 crore.”

Madhavi Rahirkar, a lawyer and a resident of Deccan area, said, “Many citizens suspect that the real reason behind PMC’s push for the BBPP road on Vetal Tekdi slopes is to benefit a private township on Paud Road side, whose map surfaced in PMC’s detailed project report for the BBPP road project.”

“The project was approved by the Deputy Director of Town Planning (SRA) in February 2019 along with residential and commercial complexes. At present, the only entry to this project is via the narrow ARAI road. Main roads that are Karve Road and Paud Road lie at much lower gradients. For developers, the proposed BBPP road connecting to Senapati Bapat Road would provide direct access.

Adding to the suspicion is an application filed on November 11, 2020, by the project’s architect, asking PMC to realign the BBPP road to merge with the proposed High Capacity Mass Transit Route in the same portion of land. This was approved in 2023 by the PMC Commissioner, at an additional cost of Rs 16 crore.”

She added, “What troubles citizens is the selective omissions. Environment Clearance has not been obtained for the road projects on the hill. The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the BBPP project was completed in 2021. Even then, the township, approved in 2019, was neither included in the EIA nor shared with the expert committee members. The point is that despite legitimate concerns, authorities seem intent on pushing the road project, disregarding Expert Committee members' recommendations, repeatedly altering surveys when errors are flagged, and keeping major alignment changes under wraps. This project has crossed Rs 300 crore now when the EIA had done cost-benefit analysis using Rs 50 crore estimate for this 2.1 km road. It looks like they just want to do it at any cost.”

When Newslaundry reached out to Naval Kishore Ram, Pune Municipal Commissioner. “We will also speak to the people and will understand their concerns. Their point of view will surely be taken into consideration.”

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