Pune: Nearly 18 months after scores of trees along the main Koregaon Park Annexe road were cut for transplantation as part of a road-widening project, citizens and PMC have given conflicting accounts of how many were relocated and how many survived.As many as 45 of the 109 trees PMC claims to have transplanted in the same vicinity have died, citizens alleged, also adding that far fewer trees than promised were actually transplanted and several more died after being left at their original sites with their canopies hacked.The disagreement concerns trees along the stretch between ABC Farms and Carnival Hotel, where mature trees had their canopies cut and root balls prepared for transplantation back in April 2025. While Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials said they transplanted more trees than the number specified in the permission, citizens countered that only a handful were transplanted and that several others were left at their original sites as mere stumps.According to a civic official, the road-widening project permission covered 193 trees, of which 108 were approved for felling and 85 for transplantation. The official, who refused to be named, said, “We completely felled 38 of the 108 trees permitted to be cut, while we transplanted 109 trees against the 85 earmarked for transplantation. Additional trees were also taken up for transplantation in an attempt to save more of them, including some for which felling had been permitted.”However, at least 45 of the 109 transplanted trees have died, the official admitted, including two old rubber trees. While the PMC docket says these trees were 20-22 years old, citizens said they were over 50 years old.The official added the disclaimer that transplantation does not have a 100% success rate even when scientific methods are followed, and insisted that “the trees were watered regularly”. “Some trees failed to regrow because of technical factors, including differences in their root systems,” the official said.Many citizens disputed the civic body’s account. Sadhu Vaswani Chowk resident Vijaya Suratkal said that several trees had never even been moved from their original locations, despite being cut to stumps for transplanting. “Five to six trees outside the ABIL building were transplanted just a few metres away, but just a couple of them appear to have survived,” she pointed out.Suratkal alleged that trees outside Kopa Mall and near Supreme Towers and Poonawalla Fincorp were root-balled but never transplanted, and were left to die where they stood.Photographs taken by citizens on Oct 5 this year showed trees with their canopies and major branches cut back along the same road. Suratkal said, “The roots of the two old rubber trees near the Hanuman temple had not even been dug up, and only their canopies had been cut.”The contrasting accounts have raised questions about the fate of trees marked for transplantation in future projects. While PMC has said that 109 trees were relocated and that some subsequently died, citizens have asked the civic body to identify the destinations of the trees it counts as transplanted and establish how many have survived in clear terms.Kothrud resident Chaitanya Ket said residents had repeatedly been assured that trees affected by road projects would be transplanted rather than felled. “Every time we object, PMC responds that the trees are not being felled but will be transplanted. However, as we have tracked this and other cases, the PMC transplants only a few trees, and they do so in such poor conditions that the trees die,” Ket said.He called for greater emphasis on alternative road designs to preserve mature trees wherever possible, instead of relying on transplantation after the alignment has been decided.Bhosalenagar resident Hema Chari said that there is a need to factor trees into road planning. “It’s high time PMC considers trees as part of infrastructure and designs roads around trees, with proper planning and respect for the natural assets that make our city liveable,” she said.
