13 September,2026 07:31 AM IST | Mumbai | Archana Dahiwal
Before and After: The garbage needed to lifted by an earthmover; (right) the area after the officers got the NOC to start work in March. Pics/Special Arrangement
For years, a patch of land in Devlali Cantonment Board was an eyesore. Random plastic bags, dirty discarded clothes, abandoned footwear, broken glass and household waste lay strewn across the site. During the monsoon, rainwater mixed with this garbage waste, created stagnant pools of foul-smelling leachate.
Today, no one would believe that this is the same site.
Spread across 1.40 hectares or roughly 3.5 acres, the once-neglected site is on the way to being transformed to an urban forest, with around 42,000 saplings representing more than 40 indigenous species. The project is undertaken by the Social Forestry Department Nashik, following the Miyawaki method of developing dense plantations using native species.
Behind the transformation are women forest officers and frontline staff who spent months working on a piece of land that had, for years, effectively been written off.
Miyawaki what?
Finding suitable land for the Miyawaki project was itself a challenge.
Miyawaki Model is a Japanese technique of creating dense, native forests in small spaces by planting indigenous species closely together, with scientifically prepared soil and multiple layers of vegetation.
The Cantonment Board, Social Forestry Department and Nashik district administration extended their full support to the women officers in developing the urban forest.
Among them are Range Forest Officers Savita Patil, Karuna Pagare and Suchita Patil, along with Sunita Deshmukh, another Range Forest Officer who was associated with the project before her transfer.
"People have been dumping waste here year after year. When we started thinking about implementing the Miyawaki model in Nashik, we identified this land. But getting an NOC was the biggest challenge because the land belonged to the Defence Department. There was no such suitable land parcel available in Nashik city, so we decided to develop this site in Devlali," said Savita Patil, Range Forest Officer, Nashik, speaking to Sunday mid-day.
The Social Forestry Department received the necessary NOC in March 2026, following which work began.
The first step was perhaps the least glamorous but most crucial - clearing the site.
Several dumpers and other equipment were deployed to remove years of accumulated waste. Clothes, plastic, footwear, glass pieces and other discarded material had to be cleared before the land could be prepared for plantation.
The logistics of it all
"Once we got the NOC, we immediately started the work. The entire dumping yard had to be cleared. People had been throwing all kinds of unwanted material here for years. After cleaning the plots, the land was excavated, and the soil was treated with cow-dung manure, compost and wood husk before it was filled and prepared for plantation," Patil said.
The plantation work began during the monsoon.
Unlike a conventional plantation where trees are generally spaced out, the Miyawaki method involves planting native species closely together in a scientifically planned arrangement. The idea is to recreate, on a smaller scale, the layered structure of a natural forest.
At Devlali, the plantation has been laid out on a one-metre-by-one-metre grid. The plants have been selected to create different layers of vegetation, including canopy trees, large trees, sub-trees and shrubs, added the Patil.
The plantation comprises approximately 20 per cent canopy species, 40 per cent large trees, 27 per cent sub-trees and 13 per cent shrubs.
The objective is to create a dense and diverse ecosystem rather than simply increase the number of trees.
To protect the young plantation from stray cattle and trespassing, the site has been fenced. A drip-irrigation system has also been installed to provide water to the saplings.
Over a decade in the making
For Karuna Pagare, who has been in government service for nearly 12 years, the project carries particular significance.
"This is the first time the Miyawaki model has been implemented in Nashik district, and we feel proud to be associated with it. We have been stationed here and are constantly involved in looking after the saplings. The work is still going on - whether it is putting up supporting wooden sticks for the plants or taking care of their growth," Pagare told Sunday mid-day.
It's a climb
For the forest department team, planting the saplings was only the beginning. The real task now is ensuring that they survive and establish themselves.
Suchita Patil, 42, associated with the Range Forest Department, said the plantation would eventually create a habitat for several forms of biodiversity.
"Even on a small piece of land like this, we hope to develop a diverse ecosystem. We have planted flowering and medicinal species as well. The biodiversity here will gradually develop as the plantation grows," she said.
âA nandanvan on damaged Defence land'
Gajendra Hire, IFS, Conservator of Forests, Nashik, said the biggest hurdle had been securing permission to use the Defence land for ecological restoration.
"The main task was getting the NOC from the Defence authorities. This was Defence land in a severely deteriorated condition, and we wanted to create a ânandanvan' - a green haven - on such land. In the next two to three years, you will see it developing into a dense urban forest and becoming home to several species," Hire told Sunday mid-day.
Out with the legacy waste
The transformation has also been welcomed by the Devlali Cantonment authorities.
Abhishek Tripathi, CEO of Devlali Cantonment Board, said the site lay unused and dirty.
"We received a proposal from the Social Forestry Department regarding development of an urban forest. We already had a solid waste management system, but legacy waste had accumulated on these land parcels over several decades," Tripathi told Sunday mid-day.
Tripathi added that the Cantonment Board had granted permission to the Forest Department for the project.
Forty-two thousand saplings may sound like the headline number, but the success of the project will ultimately be measured by how many survive and how the ecosystem develops over the coming years.
For the women forest officers who have been closely involved with the project, however, the achievement is more immediate and tangible.
They remember the land as a dumping ground.
Now the green shoots are proof that even a dump can be given a second chance.
