𝐀 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞. Not in secrecy, but through files, stamps, and official approvals. More than 600 trees along Pune’s riverbanks—mute, rooted, and defenseless—are marked for felling. In a determined push to replicate the Sabarmati riverfront model, Political Leaders and authorities in Pune have set in motion an expansive Riverfront Development (RFD) along the Mula-Mutha river. Stretch by stretch, permissions are being issued—hundreds , thousands of trees cleared through due process, each sanctioned in the language of governance. What is unfolding is not beautification. It is erasure. As work advances, century-old trees—living archives of the city’s ecological past—are being cut down in succession. The riverbanks are being excavated, packed with concrete, and sealed with embankments. A living river is being straightjacketed into a narrow, engineered channel. Under the banner of “development,” Pune is steadily dismantling its own natural defenses. The project’s consultant, the Gujarat-based HCP Consultant, has effectively classified Pune’s riverine ecosystem—its dense canopy, its sacred groves, its biodiversity—as an "impediment". The logic is chillingly simple: if nature stands in the way, remove it. But who decides that a thriving ecosystem must give way to concrete? Who authorizes the transformation of a living landscape into a sterile corridor of cement? The consequences are no longer theoretical. Birds are abandoning their nests mid-season. Small animals are being driven out of shrinking habitats. The microclimate that once moderated heat and sustained moisture is being stripped away. And as this ecological unraveling accelerates, the city’s residents are left to confront a growing sense of unease. Yet, those elected to represent them remain conspicuously silent. Municipal corporators, state legislators, members of Parliament—those entrusted with public mandate—have offered little more than quiet acquiescence. The silence is not incidental; it is structural. Decisions of this magnitude are not made in a vacuum. The risks, however, are plain. Strip the riverbanks of vegetation, and flooding becomes inevitable. Replace green cover with concrete, and temperatures will rise. Destroy natural water channels, and drought will follow. This is not speculation; it is environmental arithmetic. But the calculus driving this project appears different—centered not on ecology, but on economics. Reclaimed land, commercial potential, curated public spaces: jogging tracks, gardens, and real estate value. The question is no longer what is being built, but at what cost—and for whom. Legal recourse has offered limited resistance. Courts have, in effect, deferred to regulatory procedure—directing authorities to secure environmental clearance from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and proceed. The machinery moves forward. And so, the burden shifts to the citizens. Across Pune, voices are beginning to gather force. Residents are stepping out—raising objections, organizing peaceful protests, demanding accountability. What was once a quiet concern is hardening into public resistance. A critical moment now looms. A public hearing scheduled for tomorrow will decide the fate of 689 more trees slated for removal under the riverfront project. It is not merely a procedural exercise; it is a test of whether public participation can still influence the course of development. The stakes are no longer abstract. This is not just about trees. It is about the future of a river. And the survival of a city that may not yet realize what it is losing. #Pune #RFD #Trees @mohol_murlidhar @AUThackeray @rautsanjay61 @SidShirole @MDNagpure @prashantjagtapn @BalwadkarAmol @ChDadaPatil @Medha_kulkarni @SalimAli_Bird @MrMcgreely @SVYadwadkar @vandymini @mhemachari @suratkal @ameetgsingh @VinitaDeshmukh @AnathpindikaS @whattosayfolks @TamhiniGhat @PuneRivers @bonyuppal @SpeakUpPune @amardasbhalla @RajaSubramani22 @navipeth @sumedh_bp @Pushkaraj2020 @ultra__sonic @Jeevitnadi @pushkar_k09 @RupeshSarode03 @RupeshKesekar @mayurekbote @aparanjape @sanadiipbbiswas

My ground report on how punes citizens are fighting to save the river from real estate sharks .in the name of development we are making #Pune susceptible to #floods @SVYadwadkar @AUThackeray @sushmadate @Indian_Rivers @Jeevitnadi @CMOMaharashtra

मुठा-मुठा नद्यांचं पुनरुज्जीवन आणि नदीकाठ प्रकल्पामुळे या परिसराचं केवळ सौंदर्यच बहणार नाही, तर हा परिसर पर्यटनाचा मुख्य केंद्रबिंदू असणार आहे. #पुण्याचे_प्रगतिपर्व #PunekarWithBJP #ViksitPune #BJP4PMC @narendramodi @PMOIndia @AmitShah @JPNadda @NitinNabin @blsanthosh @BJP4India @Dev_Fadnavis @RaviDadaChavan @BJP4Maharashtra

Another nail in the coffin for Pune. The State Env Assessment board has given a clearance to the #RFDPune project without addressing the concerns flagged by NGT petitioners. The sec of the Water Dept did a complete about turn w/o giving reasons. I don't know when the clearances were given, but the timing of the press release just after the elections is telling. How concreting flood banks, removing precious riparian trees and shrubs and replacing them with pretty lawns and new saplings (that too on a bed of rocks over plastic sheets) will rejuvenate a river is beyond me. Meanwhile, no updates on the JICA funded STP project which will actually help in cleaning up the river 🙄 freepressjournal.in/pune/pun…

WE HAVE INVITED THE PMC OFFICERS AND ALSO INVITE THIS "PUNE CITY LIFE" FOR AN OPEN DEBATE ON THIS PROJECT CALLED PUNE RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENT. LET US DEBATE ON THIS PROJECT IN FRONT OF MEDIA AND EXPERTS AND CITIZENS. READY?

Why So?-7 #RFDHATAOPUNEBACHAO @Jairam_Ramesh @PMCPune @PMOIndia @CMOMaharashtra @AUThackeray @lifeindia2016 @nitin_gadkari @MPVandanaChavan @MirrorNow @LoksattaLive @lokmat @pudharionline @PuneTimesOnline @VinitaDeshmukh @jbaphna @SalimAli_Bird @VetalTekdi @PuneRivers

Why So?-7 #RFDHATAOPUNEBACHAO @Jairam_Ramesh @PMCPune @PMOIndia @CMOMaharashtra @AUThackeray @lifeindia2016 @nitin_gadkari @MPVandanaChavan @MirrorNow @LoksattaLive @lokmat @pudharionline @PuneTimesOnline @VinitaDeshmukh @jbaphna @SalimAli_Bird @VetalTekdi @PuneRivers

Finally NGT directs PMC not to cut a single tree till PMC gets amended Environmental Clearance for tree felling and permission from State Tree Authority. PMC intends to slaughter at least 11,000 trees for the "River Beautification".

State Env dept, MH Tree Authority to meet tomorrow to decide fate of 7.5k trees from #Pune. Check how cleverly the name of #RFDPune has been changed to 'River Revamp' - because RFD project DPR says NO trees to be cut Any which way to get clearances for massively $$$ project🙄