‘Praj, Goel Ganga polluting Pune's Ramnadi’

Prominent Pune construction firm, Goel Ganga Group, and the Praj Industries have been indicted for dumping rubble on the banks of the Ramnadi by a team of revenue officers led by DS Asawale, circle officer, Thergaon.

Both firms have, however, vehemently refuted the charges and have presented their viewpoint while speaking to DNA.

The team of revenue officers on Monday conducted a detailed inspection of the dumping on the banks of the Ramnadi in Bavdhan and also drew up a panchnama on the dumping.

Asawale’s visit was a result of DNA’s continuous reporting on the issue of illegal dumping along the Ramnadi for the past month.

The DNA report published on February 19, ‘Illegal dumping on Ramnadi to be probed’ was taken note of by the then district collector, Chandrakant Dalvi, who ordered a special committee to probe the matter. His instructions were followed by the district mining officer, Sanjay Bamane, who had asked the tehsildar of Mulshi, Bhausaheb Jadhav, to investigate the matter (DNA, February 23, ‘Dumping in Ramnadi will be probed: Dalvi’).

Experts had pointed out how the dumping has increased the risk of flash floods in the region. Bavdhan had witnessed the ravages of flash floods last year in July and October.

During the visit, which the officers conducted with DNA, Asawale stopped the work conducted on the banks of the Ramnadi outside Praj Industries. He stated that the panchnama will include a detailed report of the dumping along with the names of the owners of the land where the dumping has happened.

“A detailed survey will be undertaken to determine how much soil has been dumped on the banks illegally. As of now, dumping activity has happened mostly on the land belonging to the builder, Goel Ganga, and the industry, Praj,” he said. Once the panchnama has been drawn up, it would be sent to the office of the Mulshi tehsildar, who will take further action, which would include imposition of fines on the culprits.