No permission given to PMC to construct DP Road through Anandvan-6 urban forest: Pune forest dept head

Pune: The forest department has refused permission to PMC to build a development plan (DP) road through the Anandvan-6 urban forest in Mohammadwadi, proposed by the civic body as a solution to the worsening traffic congestion in the NIBM Road–Undri belt.Earlier, Mohammadwadi-Undri residents had also strongly opposed Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) plan for the proposed DP road to ease traffic flow from Undri to Kondhwa Road, citing the imminent environmental damage and various safety concerns.When TOI contacted Pune’s chief conservator of forest (CCF) Ashish Thakare on Monday, he confirmed that the forest department has not given any permission to PMC to construct the proposed DP road.

“My predecessor had already written to PMC for cancellation of the proposed DP Road through Anandvan-6,” Thakare said.The urban forest has been nurtured over decades, first through soil enrichment using gliricidia and later through the planting of indigenous species. Today, it supports a thriving ecosystem, including more than 20 bird species. Residents said a road through the forest would undo years of conservation efforts, while bringing traffic, noise and pollution into one of the area’s few surviving green spaces.

Bhupesh Sharma, co-founder of Anandvan Foundation that maintains urban forests in the area, said, “Putting a road through the urban forest we have worked so hard to nurture would be devastating to the local micro-biodiversity here.”PMC’s road department head Rajesh Bankar also confirmed, “The matter had gone to Supreme Court, which rejected any construction on forest land.”In April this year, PMC had proposed a DP road alignment in the same area through Clover Pinnacle and Pinnacle Ridge approach road to resolve ongoing traffic problems.

That road was also opposed by residents on the grounds of safety concerns.While residents acknowledged that traffic congestion in the area has reached unsustainable levels, they insisted that solutions must not compromise either public safety or environmental assets.Parveen Tambe, a local resident and co-founder of the NIBM–Undri Residents Forum, said the Pinnacle Ridge road alignment was opposed as it would channel more traffic through a hazardous stretch.

“There is a blind spot on the road and accidents already happen there. Opening the DP road would only increase the risk for pedestrians and motorists using that junction daily,” she said.Another resident, Pranay Bhatia, said the present situation is the result of years of unplanned growth. “The problem is that development and building permissions kept coming, but road planning never kept pace. Today, we have huge traffic volumes and no easy solutions.

PMC needs to find an option that reduces congestion without increasing accidents and without destroying years of environmental conservation. Public safety and green spaces cannot become casualties of poor planning,” said Bhatia.With one proposed alignment opposed on safety grounds and another ruled out by the forest department, residents said the challenge before the PMC is clear: find a third route that addresses the area’s growing traffic burden without sacrificing either lives or the environment.