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Stop all river bed work: Pune activists

Right to information (RTI) activist, Vijay Kumbhar, issued a notice to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Saturday, asking for immediate stoppage of the work.

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Emboldened by the interim stay order issued by the Bombay high court on Thursday against construction by civic bodies on river beds, activists in Pune have demanded an immediate cessation of all work related to river bed improvement and storm water drainage.

Right to information (RTI) activist, Vijay Kumbhar, issued a notice to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Saturday, asking for immediate stoppage of the work. The Bombay high court on Thursday, issued the order while hearing a public interest litigation filed by the Baner Area Sabha and Jal Biradari, seeking a stay on the ongoing channelisation work undertaken by the PMC on the central course of the Devnadi river in Baner.

DNA through its reports, ‘PIL against civic body to save Devnadi’ ( April 25) and ‘No concretisation of Devnadi: HC (May 6) had put the spotlight on the issue.

Kumbhar, in his notice, said, “The order asks the PMC to stop all construction activities on river beds. We demand that all manner of work, be it laying of storm water drains, river beautification or laying of drain pipes be stopped with immediate effect.”

Kumbhar demanded the PMC apply for environmental clearance for both ongoing and completed projects on river beds.

The civic body is carrying out river bed beautification and laying of storm water drains along the river basins and river beds in the city. Both these works are being done under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Under the river bed beautification, the PMC has undertaken channelisation of the central stream from Mhatre bridge to Kharadi. Stretching over 7km, this work involves laying remo mattress (which are gabin structures made of wire and stone), which would increase the capacity of the river and also help in reducing pollution. The total cost of the project is around Rs100 crore.

When questioned about the fate of this project, in light to the recent stay, Mangesh Dighe, environment officer, PMC, said, “I have yet to go through the order. The river beautification is being done without using any concrete. We will take a decision after consulting the legal advisor of the civic body.”

In the storm water drain lines project, the civic body has to cover 541 km water streams in three phases. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs1,800 crore. The first phase was to work with four basins in Wadgaon Sheri, Wadgaon Budruk and Baner.

The channelisation work of the Devnadi was the first of the river basins undertaken.

Shivaji Sankpal, executive engineer, said the civic body had stopped all construction work with immediate effect. “However, we will continue our work of removing debris and other obstructions in the water streams as otherwise the chances of flash floods would remain,” he said.

Baner resident and member of Baner Area Sabha, Anupam Saraph said the stay order is a beacon of hope for all environmentalists in the city.

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