The Pune Municipal Corporation has cleared accumulated waste and planted 50 trees in the green belt between Navale Bridge and Bhumkar Chowk along the Mumbai–Pune–Bengaluru National Highway, but renewed dumping by some citizens and roadside vendors continues to threaten the civic improvement.
The clean-up and plantation followed repeated reports by Lokmat about garbage accumulating in the green belt. The municipal administration removed the waste and completed the first phase of tree planting in the area. Officials now plan to extend the plantation and develop the stretch as a “no-garbage zone”.
The corridor remains vulnerable to fresh littering. According to the report, tea and snack stalls, fruit sellers and some citizens have been seen dumping waste again after the cleaning operation. This has raised concerns about whether the newly cleared area and the planted trees can be maintained without regular monitoring and enforcement.
Residents have called for action against businesses and individuals responsible for dumping waste. Anuya Joshi, a resident of Narhegaon, said tea and snack operators and fruit vendors should face action if they are found discarding waste in the area. She also suggested that available CCTV footage be used to identify offenders and impose fines.
Dr Sunil Ambegaonkar said maintaining the cleaned stretch would require participation from citizens as well as the administration. He said residents should avoid dumping waste instead of placing the entire responsibility on civic authorities.
The municipal administration said the 50 trees were planted in the first phase and that additional plantation would be undertaken in the next phase. Assistant Municipal Commissioner Pragya Potdar said the administration was working to keep the area clean and had appealed to citizens to cooperate.
The planned measures extend beyond plantation. Subhash Ghante, an executive engineer with the National Highways Authority of India, said patrolling in the area had been increased after the Lokmat report. He said safety fencing and warning boards would be installed, while the available CCTV footage was being examined to identify people responsible for dumping waste.
The stretch between Navale Bridge and Bhumkar Chowk is located along a heavily used national highway corridor, making its upkeep a shared operational concern for the municipal administration and highway authorities. The proposed fencing, signage, patrolling and CCTV-based enforcement are intended to protect the green belt from becoming a dumping point again.
The next steps identified by the authorities are additional tree planting, development of the area as a no-garbage zone, installation of fencing and warning boards, and action based on the CCTV footage under review.
