The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has issued a show-cause notice to its garden department chief, Mahesh Gargote, over allegations that the number and estimated age of 52 trees felled for a developer’s project in Pimpri were understated, potentially reducing the compensation payable to the civic body.
The notice was issued by the civic chief on October 27 after members of the Aam Aadmi Party alleged that two conflicting reports had been prepared to assess the trees. According to the complaint, the first report put the trees’ cumulative estimated age at 1,018 years, while a subsequent assessment reduced it to 104 years.
Raviraj Kale, state president of the AAP youth wing, alleged that the revised assessment may have been prepared under pressure from some corporators or for personal gain benefiting the developer. The allegation has not been established, and Gargote has been asked to submit his explanation before any further action is taken.
Kale said the difference in the assessments could have significantly changed the amount payable to the corporation. He claimed that the developer had informed PCMC that there was no space available for compensatory plantation and that monetary compensation could instead be paid to the civic body.
Under the Maharashtra (urban areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, the number of compensatory trees required is linked to the estimated age of trees that are felled. Where a developer cannot carry out the plantation and chooses to deposit money with the civic body for the work, the applicable compensation is paid to the corporation.
Kale claimed that the compensation would have been around Rs 1.5 crore on the basis of the initial assessment, calculated at Rs 15,000 for each year of the trees’ estimated age. On the revised assessment, he said, the amount fell to Rs 15.6 lakh. The figures are part of the complaint cited in the report and have not been independently confirmed in the supplied material.
The tree authority granted permission for the felling in March, and the work was completed last month, according to Kale. He said he had met the additional municipal commissioner and municipal commissioner during the past two to three weeks, seeking an inquiry and action against those responsible.
The show-cause notice reportedly states that the complaint alleged the number and age of the trees had been understated, resulting in unauthorised felling, violation of norms and a significant loss of revenue to the corporation. It asks Gargote to explain the allegations.
A senior PCMC official told the Times of India that appropriate action would be initiated after Gargote’s explanation is received and assessed. The next formal step in the matter will therefore depend on the garden department chief’s response and the corporation’s review of the competing tree assessments.
