Meeting again on Dec 20 to iron out differences with activists.
River navigation will not be part of the river restoration project of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). This was disclosed by the PMC’s environment officer, Mangesh Dighe, in a presentation at a meeting of select environmental activists, PMC officials and river experts, convened by industrialist Anu Aga in the city on Friday.
The exclusion of the navigation plan from the river restoration project came as a surprise to the many environmental activists who had congregated for the meeting. More so because some of them pointed out that civic documents procured by them under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, had clearly stated that navigation was an integral part of the restoration project.
As the differences of opinion between the PMC and the activists could not produce any tangible results on Friday, Aga urged the PMC to convene a meeting of all groups once again at 10 am on Tuesday (December 20) at the PMC office in Savarkar Bhavan to iron out the differences.
During the PMC presentation, its additional city engineer (special projects), Srinivas Bonala, countered the activists, stating that the RTI documents procured by them referred to a 2006
development plan (DP).
According to Bonala, there have been at least three modifications to the river restoration development plan and the most recent 2011 DP did not include the navigation project. “There is absolutely no proposal for river transportation in our latest river restoration plan funded by Rs99 crore from the JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru national urban renewal mission),’’ Bonala told the gathering.
In his presentation, Dighe said that the river restoration project involved two stretches: the first between Mhatre Bridge and Sangam Bridge, and the second between Sangam Bridge and Mundhwa.
The primary goal is to demarcate the river by dredging the river banks and creating ample space for easy flow of water. Dighe said that the aim was to discharge 1 lakh cusecs of water in the first stretch and 1.68 lakh in the second stretch. He pointed out that all soil and rubble dredged would be reused in the river itself.
The presentation was challenged by environmental activist Sarang Yadwadkar. “This project was sent to the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) and the Central Design Office (CDO) of the irrigation department, Nashik, for approval. It was criticised and rejected by the expert appraisal committee of the MoEF and CDO on various grounds,’’ he claimed.
Yadwadkar raised several concerns about the project. “While the Khadakwasla dam has a maximum discharge capacity of 1,28,899 cusecs into the Mutha river, the PMC’s project aims at allowing only 60,000 cusecs. This reduced water carrying capacity is going to result in far more severe and frequent floods,’’ he said.
He also expressed concern over the excavation being proposed in the river bed for channelisation. “Any excavation below and around the 18 existing bridges is certainly going to destabilise the bridges, which are the lifelines of Pune,’’ he added.
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