Authorities defend Pune’s RFD project, say work following regulations, best practices

The RFD task has been facing absorption from environmentalists and residents who person raised concerns implicit the harm to the ecology of the stream and the expanding chances of floods during the monsoon.

Mohol claimed that determination was not overmuch absorption to the RFD project. “Everyone is escaped to explicit their sentiment successful a democracy. Any utmost basal volition not effect successful resolving nationalist issues. Moreover, radical astatine ample are liking the project,” helium said, adding that a equilibrium has to beryllium recovered betwixt the situation and development.

Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni, however, has raised concerns astir the RFD task with the authorities, she said. “The issues of RFD encroaching upon the riverbank and the cutting of trees, which the citizens raised, are sedate concerns,” said Kulkarni.

While the PCMC main defended the RFD project, saying that respective specified projects were carried retired globally, a PMC serviceman said that the RFD task was being implemented arsenic per the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and conditions laid down by authorities agencies and courts.

“A portion of the RFD agelong volition beryllium opened for the nationalist this twelvemonth and radical volition similar it,” the PMC serviceman said, adding that the task was not lone astir beautification but besides astir conserving the stream portion ensuring the information of localities alongside it.

“One happening I privation to enactment connected grounds is that projects similar these person been undertaken passim the world, from New York to Paris to London. All cities extremity up draining their rivers. It is thing caller that we are trying to do,” Shekhar Singh, PCMC Commissioner, said. He added that the RFD task successful Pune has adopted respective champion practices from the Sabarmati Riverfront Development task successful Ahmedabad.

Several critics of the RFD task person alleged that the civic bodies were trying to decorate the stream with factual alternatively of cleaning it.

Singh denied the allegation. “We request to retrieve that it is not a wholly engineered conception that we volition do. It is not that we are making the slope concrete. We person divided it into 3 sections. One is the agrarian Riparian section, wherever a batch of onshore is available, and wherever we are keeping the slope arsenic earthy arsenic possible, with lone stone pitching, and truthful on…trying to get successful grasses that are native. There is thing exotic oregon from outside. Then, determination are a fewer urban-rural Riparian sections, wherever it is mixed. So, a batch of density is close adjacent to the river, wherever we request to instrumentality a small spot of a antithetic path. Then, determination are precise dense areas, wherever immoderate engineered factual sections request to travel in,” helium explained.

About the protests that are taking spot astir the RFD project, Singh said that radical had approached the NGT. “We got the situation clearance for the Mula task but immoderate radical went to NGT. The NGT lawsuit went connected for astir a year. The GT past disposed of the case, saying that the situation committee astatine the authorities level needs to reappraisal the clearance. The committee re-looked astatine it and has present approved the project. We are going up arsenic acold arsenic that re-looked clearance is concerned,” said Singh.

One of the large components of the RFD task is flood protection, helium said. “That is wherefore you spot these bindings. Bindings hap passim the world. It is not happening for the archetypal clip successful Pune. We person been doing bindings for rivers for centuries to support the areas from floods. Some radical are saying that we are reducing the carrying capableness of the river, which is not factual. Through binding, we are, successful fact, expanding the carrying capableness of the river,” said Singh.

Another interest raised is regarding the felling of trees. “Tree cutting volition lone hap arsenic acold arsenic the Tree Authority Department permits. We volition not beryllium cutting oregon transplanting immoderate histrion without permission. Most of the trees, similar Gliricidia, person been mandated to beryllium removed by the authorities due to the fact that they are an exotic and invasive species. Among the 100- oregon 200-year-old trees, the absorption is to transplant them and not uproot them,” helium said.

Singh said that the RFD task was being implemented arsenic per the DPR and regulations and “we are not going to interruption immoderate of those”.

“I consciousness that we person tried to instrumentality each precautions. Still, we are unfastened to suggestions…to immoderate radical consciousness tin beryllium done champion successful this framework. Jeevitnadi [an organisation] said that we request to enactment connected a fewer springs successful the river. We person started to coordinate with them,” helium said.