To ease congestion in India’s fourth most traffic-congested city, the Pune Municipal Corporation has planned three road development projects that threaten the environment. Pune’s Vetal Tekdi (Hill) in the Kothrud area is one of the last remaining habitats in the city for wildlife, including migratory species. It is part of the Vetal Tekdi-Hanuman Tekdi complex, a forested, hilly expanse that stretches as far as Pashan and Senapati Bapat Road across the city. The hill is also an important groundwater recharge zone. However, it might soon be destroyed. To curb traffic congestion in the city, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has planned three road development projects in the area: Bal Bharati-Paud Phata link road on Law College hill slope, the High Capacity Mass Transit Route (HCMTR) elevated road, and tunnel roads from Panchavati which exit at Sutardhara and Gokhalenagar. These projects can irreversibly damage the ecology of the hill and severely hamper its groundwater recharge capacity. Community Organisations Protest The hill has been a space for community engagement for decades, with people from all walks of life coming here to relax, exercise and escape the city. The Mehandales, a retired couple, have been frequenting the hill for the last decade. “This place is a breath of fresh air, literally. Often, this is the only place that helps us keep healthy. It’s home to wildlife. Why would you want to lose this? PMC must find an alternative,” they say. Some citizens have strongly reacted to these projects and assembled under the banner of Yellow Ribbon Campaign (YRC) to protest. Protesting since early August, they have been tying yellow cloth ribbons on trees marked for felling for the projects. Before the YRC, protests were also organised by the Deccan Gymkhana Parisar Samiti and Save Pune Traffic Movement as early as May. Though some of the protests were attended by 1,000-2,000 people, public participation has remained limited. Anti-Development or Anti-People? The PMC has regularly termed these protests as “anti-development”. In response, Aditi Deo, from YRC, says, “What do you mean by development? A good city must have places where citizens can be one with nature. If they (PMC) say we’re anti-development, we say they are anti-people.” Appealing to the corporation, she adds, “You can’t just be so greedy. It’s not worth it.” Slum Dwellers of Kelewadi Ignored However, the protests against the PMC projects have faced shortcomings. Apart from the lack of consistent public participation, they have also failed to involve one of the primary stakeholders – the residents of Kalewadi. Kelewadi is a slum on the slopes of Vetal Tekdi. Residents here may face displacement as work for the three projects gets underway. This is something that they have dealt with before. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, a private real estate development threatened to displace many residents here in exchange for paltry compensation. They resisted and saved their houses. Now they may have to do it all over again. However, they have not been meaningfully involved in the protests that have taken place against the projects. A local doctor, running the only clinic in the slum, says, “We are aware of the projects and strongly oppose them. However, we had no idea of the Yellow Ribbon Campaign or other protests. If we knew, we would show up in large numbers.” Without their involvement, the protests against the projects may not be as effective, possibly leading to the hill becoming another case of a green space lost in the name of ‘development’.
10 Oct 2022
Atharv Unhale
