Over 9,000 inhabitants fight to keep Pune Green Hills from building
Over 9,000 inhabitants in the whole of Pune have united to immediately adjust all proposed construction activities on the iconic hills of the city, and refer to irreversible environmental deterioration and long -term urban sustainability risks.
The growing movement is managed by citizen campaigns and green activists and tries to preserve the city's natural legacy, especially in Hilltop and Hill slope zones that are currently threatened by proposals for real estate development. The residents' concerns have come together to form a formal petition that was submitted to a recently formed state -appointed study group. The six-member committee, which was established by the state government on April 8, has commissioned the reasoning of the delimitation of the biodiversity park (BDP) and the Hilltop-Hill trim limits and to formulate the development control regulations (DCR) for PUNE. The committee received a deadline of May 8 to make its recommendations.
The public reaction was quick and loud. Signature trips on popular green areas such as Vetal Tekdi and Aapla Maruti saw enthusiastic participation, with activists asking residents to resist any dilution reasons of the BDP protection. The petition does not provide a change in the existing zoning, a complete ban on construction work in ecologically sensitive mountain zones and legal protective measures in order to protect these areas as irreplaceable urban ecosystems. Experts who are involved in the campaign argue that self-limited building states, as could trigger the built-up area of ​​environment with 4% to 8%. “Excavations on these hills accelerate urban heat, exhaust the groundwater loading zones and increase the city's CO2 footprint,” said an environmentalist who supported the petition. “These hills are not only the lungs of Pune, but also the critical overhead water reservoirs, which organize unique biodiversity and act as a climate bank.”
The concern has grown to the step of the state to rethink his decision of 2015, which explained 978 hectares of Punes Hills as biological multiple parks in which the construction was strictly prohibited. The fear is that the new committee could recommend a political shift and that these green zones may be reopened in urban development under revised parameters of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pune Metropolitan Development Authority (PMRDA). Officials have confirmed that public proposals and objections were taken into account within the framework of the MRTP law during the approval of the previous development plan. But citizen groups are alarmed by what they call “institutional indifference” for these inputs. They indicate the failure of the PMC to implement the satellite -based monitoring of illegal mountain constructions and the lack of measures to account for accounting against violations.
City planners and sustainability experts who support the campaign claim that the preservation of Hills is a critical topic, not only for the preservation of biological diversity, but also for long -term urban resistance. These ecosystems are of essential importance for air purification, temperature regulation and flood reduction – services that cannot replicate an artificial infrastructure. The campaign of the citizens also proposes compensation mechanisms for private landowners, whose diagrams fall under BDP reservations. According to activists, this would be a fairer alternative as an environmentally sensitive area to enable construction. You have also demanded a permanent public representation in all future urban planning decisions related to Punes Hills, which emphasized that the voice of civil society must not be ignored in favor of development lobbies.
In addition to online engagement, the residents also carry out campaigns to raise awareness on site in order to sensitize more people about the ecological importance of the city's hills. Flyers, social media publicity work and public meetings are organized in Pune in shared apartments. So far, the authorities have claimed that the work of the committee is only an exploratory nature and that decisions are made on the basis of a transparent consultation process. However, civil society groups remain careful and give past experiences in which the planning guidelines have been tacitly changed despite the public opposition in favor of high -quality real estate development.
Urban development experts find that the increasing pressure on land due to rapid marketing and demand for housing caused the developers to get involved in the construction of Hilltop. However, they warn that short -term economic interests should not overlook the environment. “Every city has to respect its natural topography. As soon as the ecological integrity of these hills is compromised, it cannot be restored. Pune will pay a high price in the coming years,” said a high -ranking planner who is connected to a think tank for green urban development. The petition and the accompanying requirements letter are to be officially presented to the state -appointed committee on April 28. Signists hope that this collective action will send a clear message to the political decision -makers: that the residents of Pune are deeply invested in the protection of the last remaining green lungs of the city – not only for their aesthetic value, but for survival and sustainability of the urban ecosystem.
The pressure is only a few weeks away with the committee deadline. The citizens of Pune observe exactly and found that this moment leads to bourgeois determination in permanent political protection for their beloved hills.
Over 9,000 inhabitants fight to keep Pune Green Hills from building
