Pune BJP MP Medha Kulkarni has criticised the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) over alleged unauthorised excavation, tree felling and construction on a hillock adjoining Swami Vivekanandnagar in Kothrud, prompting the civic body to demolish an unauthorised structure and initiate action against the person concerned.
Kulkarni visited the site with officials from the PMC’s construction department after local residents complained about extensive excavation, tree felling and construction activity on the hillock. The visit was intended to assess the condition of the site and the actions taken in response to the complaints.
According to the report, Kulkarni said hillocks were ecologically important to Pune and alleged that their destruction, along with tree felling and unauthorised construction, was damaging the city’s natural assets. She also alleged that the civic administration had failed to intervene in time despite the activities coming to its notice.
“Any attempt to damage hillocks or undertake indiscriminate construction will not be tolerated,” Kulkarni said, urging the civic administration to take immediate and concrete action against those responsible.
The PMC administration clarified that the land in question was privately owned, but said no permission had been obtained for excavation on the hillock. Civic officials said the unauthorised structure at the site had been demolished and that action had been initiated against the person concerned.
The episode places attention on the enforcement challenges surrounding Pune’s hillocks, which form part of the city’s remaining natural landscape even as development expands into established neighbourhoods. In this case, the reported activity involved multiple forms of intervention—excavation, tree felling and construction—making the question of timely monitoring central to the civic response.
The PMC has also written to the concerned tehsildar seeking action in the matter. Further proceedings will depend on the response of the revenue administration and the action taken against the person identified by the civic authorities.
