Greens protest PWD cutting rain tree

50 metre-high tree was cut to make way for a building; forest officials seize truck carrying wood from hacked tree

Environmental activists are up in arms against Public Works Department (PWD) contractor Amol Malegaon-kar hacking a 40-year-old rain tree that stood near the Sassoon Hospital morgue on Monday.
u00a0
The space, on which the rain tree stood, is being used by the PWD to erect a new building.

Environmentalists Deepak Vahikar, Vaibhav Gandhi and Sanjay Bhosale confronted Malegaonkar on the site.

Malegaonkar admitted that he did not possess the necessary permission to transport the tree. They then asked him to accompany them to the Bundgarden Police Station.

Green warriors: Sanjay Bhosale, Deepak Vahikar, and Vaibhav Gandhi stand alongside the seized truck carrying wood of the hacked rain tree.

Truck seized

Sub-Inspector DB Dhere of the Bundgarden Police Station told this reporter that Malegaonkar's truck, which contained the remains of the tree, had been seized.

"We have handed over the seized truck to the Forest Department. They will take appropriate action," said Dhere.

Said Forest Officer SZ Takawale, "We have seized the rtuck because the driver did not have a transit permit to transport the 5 ton wood it was carrying.

This amounts to a violation of Article 41 of the 1927 Forest Act."

Civic Tree Officer Balasaheb Jagzap said, "Only once the police station sendsu00a0 a letter about this to us we will be able to take action against them."

Reacting to a question about the public notice regarding cutting trees, PWD Deputy Engineer Milind Kulkarni who issued the notice said, "I do not remember the particular order. I have to check documents before I can comment on this issue."

Said Environmentalist Deepak Vahikar, "The PWD has no rights to cut the tree."

PMC Garden Department gave permission to PWD on March 21 to cut 10 trees in the Sassoon Hospital premises. The PWD also published the public notice on the same day.

HC Order

On May 6, the Mumbai High Court, in response to a public interest litigation by tree lover Deepak Vahikar and Vaibhav Gandhi ordered that the PMC or its garden department had no right to cut trees in Pune.

Vahikar and Gandhi had submitted documents to prove 65,000 trees were cut in Pune during 2001-2006 on the PMC's orders.