Around a year ago, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) decided to revise its plans for the Riverfront Development (RFD) along the Ramnadi-Mula devrai, which residents and activists have highlighted as a sacred grove. This forest, spread over around eight hectares, stretches across 800 metres of the riverbank. In its revised plan, PMC said that no trees would be felled at the site.

Now, environmentalists and residents are drawing attention to the buffer zone of the devrai, where old-growth trees are vulnerable to RFD-related construction.

“Pune’s forest cover is only about 16–22 per cent, which is far below the national target of 33 per cent set under the National Forest Policy. The Pune Forest Division’s work plan prescribes documentation and protection of sacred groves. Last year, the Ram-Mula Devrai was saved, underscoring its ecological and cultural importance as a sacred grove and vital community space with rich wildlife. The buffer zones and boundaries of this Devrai are crucial for its survival, and the riparian trees around it must be protected since they serve as crucial wildlife habitats and maintain ecological balance,” said Vandana Chaudhary, an environmentalist and member of the Balewadi Welfare Federation (BWF).

BWF has written to Tree Officer Vijay Naykal, underlining the importance of protecting the buffer zone.

Citizens have also pointed to a Supreme Court directive from December 2024, which directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to carry out a survey and formulate a policy for the management of sacred groves across the country. According to the apex court, the survey should identify areas, location, extent and clearly marked boundaries. The court said that “these boundaries should remain flexible to accommodate the natural growth and expansion of these forests while ensuring strict protection against any reduction of size due to agriculture and deforestation, among others.”

Earlier this month, PMC had advertised a docket proposing the felling of 689 trees between Wakad Bypass and Sangvi Bridge. Following a public hearing on the issue, which was adjourned, Tree Officer Naykal said he would recommend that the docket be cancelled. Chaudhary said it is imperative that PMC protect trees in the buffer zone in its next docket.

Naykal told The Indian Express that the buffer zone is already being protected. “The immediate buffer zone of the devrai is not a part of the RFD,” he said.

However, citizens and environmentalists argue that a buffer zone is integral to the forest ecosystem, and parts of it have already been impacted, including RFD construction on the PCMC side of the Ram-Mula confluence.

“A forest is not limited to the administrative boundary of a left bank or a right bank. The sacred grove or a riparian zone is inclusive of both banks and whatever exists in between. A forested area is a part of the whole ecosystem, with wildlife corridors, the grass, wetlands and sand bars, among others. A forest, in the case of the Ramnadi-Mula devrai, is not just eight hectares of land,” said Shailaja Deshpande of Jeevitnadi, an organisation that works for the rights of rivers.

Deshpande added that the ideal approach to the RFD would be to protect eco-sensitive areas and wildlife corridors. “PMC should not be touching any eco-sensitive areas, where there is an established wildlife corridor,” she said.

In documents submitted to PMC, Chaudhary also stated that “the devrai is being completely neglected by authorities, even though PMC has mentioned the site as an ecologically sensitive area and wetland. Fires, illegal alcohol consumption, sand mining, and other destructive activities are rampant at the site, posing a constant threat to trees and wildlife. These issues, combined with the threat of tree cutting by PMC, are causing irreparable damage to the ecological integrity and cultural sanctity of the Devrai.”

Naykal said the Aundh-Baner ward office has deployed tankers to the site and is constructing a gate. “There are 40 cameras present for vigilance and I am adding two more. We are taking action to increase safety in the area,” he said.