More than 70 residents environmentalists and nature enthusiasts gathered at the Botanical Survey of India BSI campus in Mundhwa on Sunday June 7 to conduct an independent survey and formally oppose a proposal to fell over 1000 trees for a 30 metre Development Plan road planned along the riverbank through the 44 acre botanical estate. According to a PMC tree felling docket the proposal involves felling 1044 trees and transplanting 444 others affecting a total of 1488 trees to make way for the riverside DP road project. Environmentalists strongly contested the inclusion of compensatory plantation as a justification arguing that mature trees some decades old cannot be replaced by saplings and that the ecological value of a space housing more than 400 plant species including several native to Maharashtra would be permanently and irreversibly destroyed. Activists also alleged that the Tree Officer failed to exercise powers under Section 19a of the Maharashtra Urban Areas Protection and Preservation of Trees Act 1975 and pointed out that an Expert Committee of the PMC Tree Authority had itself recommended exploring a flyover design to avoid fragmenting the property and conserving its biodiversity. The controversy is further complicated by a deeply troubled land ownership history involving the BSI campus which sits on land originally classified as Mahar Watan before being leased to the Botanical Survey of India until 2038. A scandalous attempt to sell approximately 40 acres of this government land to a private firm called Amadea Enterprises LLP for an IT park in 2025 was ultimately cancelled and criminal cases against those involved continue while the Maharashtra Revenue Authority upheld a demand of nearly Rs 21 crore in stamp duty and penalty on the firm in April 2026. Participants at Sunday's gathering also cited data from the Maharashtra Engineering Research Institute warning of rising rainfall intensity and flood risks in Pune in coming decades arguing that destroying riparian tree cover near river systems would worsen urban flooding and the heat island effect. Citizens demanded a detailed environmental impact assessment public disclosure of all project alternatives protection of heritage trees examination of expert recommendations and clarity on the land's legal status pledging to continue filing objections and monitoring the situation as they view the Mundhwa BSI campus as one of Pune's last remaining urban biodiversity zones whose fate will shape the city's environmental future for generations. #saudaghar #MundhwaBSI #BotanicalSurveyOfIndia #PuneNews #SaveTrees #PuneEnvironment #TreeFellingPune #DPRoad #PMC #PuneMunicipalCorporation #GreenPune #SaveOurTrees #EnvironmentIndia