Pune’s iconic Ganeshkhind Road, lined with sprawling banyans and umbar trees over a century old, is at the centre of a bitter confrontation between environmental activists and the civic body. At stake are 529 trees—including some aged 325 years—that face the axe for a road widening project. The civic authority’s report recommends felling 60 trees and replanting 469. But activists allege the document contains serious errors, particularly in how tree ages have been recorded. A 325-year-old umbar tree and multiple banyans aged between 140 and 200 years are among those listed. Environmentalists argue that replanting such old specimens is technically near impossible, with survival rates approaching zero.
The discrepancy is stark. While more than 80 percent of trees on this stretch are over 50 years old, the official docket recognises only 20 as heritage. An activist who reviewed the enumeration called the civic body’s method of calculating tree age fundamentally flawed. “Banyans and umbar trees aged 100–200 years have zero chance of survival if replanted,” she said. This is not Pune’s first encounter with failed transplantation. Previous projects, including metro work and Koregaon Park road widening, left a trail of dead trees. On Vetal Hill—once known as the city’s lung—hundreds of trees transplanted from metro sites have reduced to skeletal remains. A site visit reportedly shows only dried trunks instead of fresh foliage. Activists fear the same experiment will now be repeated on Ganeshkhind Road.
The Koregaon Park episode remains particularly bitter. In December 2023, 80 trees were cut around 1 am without any senior official present. A police complaint was filed. Later, replantation claims proved hollow. At one industrial estate, 54 replanted trees completely dried up. In another location, saplings were planted over gas pipelines—clearly symbolic. Activists alleged that no tree was watered even once in three months, with both the tree authority and road department denying responsibility. Urban ecologists point to a fundamental flaw in current development logic. A single large, old tree produces far more oxygen and sequesters significantly more carbon than thousands of small saplings. Road designs can be altered to preserve heritage trees—traffic has been diverted around metro pillars, activists note, so it can be diverted around trees. The civic body, however, continues to choose the easier path of felling.
The Ganeshkhind Road proposal now rests with the state government and the tree authority. But given past failures—a promised plantation of nearly 14,400 saplings remains largely unfulfilled, and survival rates from earlier drives are abysmal—activists remain deeply sceptical. Without urgent intervention, Pune risks losing not just trees but its identity as a green, livable city.
Pune Faces 500 Tree Axe On Ganeshkhind Road
