MSRDC’s tree plantation plan on Pune-Mumbai eway sparks controversy

PUNE: The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has invited bids worth ₹30 crore from private entities for tree plantation along the Pune-Mumbai Expressway and the old Pune-Mumbai highway. This has raised eyebrows, as an existing toll contract already includes provisions for planting 1 lakh trees funded through road tax collected from the same stretch. 
Objections have surfaced regarding MSRDC’s tender, with civic activist Vivek Velankar and the Aam Aadmi Party challenging the decision. According to Velankar, the toll agreement made in 2004 required the contractor to plant 1 lakh trees along the expressway, averaging 833 trees per kilometre. 
Public Works Minister Dada Bhuse, who heads MSRDC, declined to comment, stating that he was in a meeting and would gather information later. 
“The 2004 agreement mentions that to compensate for trees lost due to construction, 500 trees were transplanted along the expressway, and an additional 1 lakh trees were to be planted along the entire route, including the median,” Velankar claimed.  
He has also written to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, requesting that the current tender process be stopped and seeking clarification on the missing trees. 
MSRDC’s tender stipulates that the successful bidder must plant trees along the Yashwantrao Chavan Expressway and the old Pune-Mumbai highway between Talegaon and Kusgaon within 18 months, with maintenance required for an additional five years. 
The Aam Aadmi Party’s Mukund Kirdat also highlighted findings obtained through the Right to Information Act, which reveals that of the 1 lakh trees supposedly planted, only 64,034 remain—49,034 along the expressway and 15,000 along the old highway.  
“Our question is, where are the missing 46,000 trees?” Kirdat asked, noting that the official figures don’t align with what travellers observe on these routes. “Instead of an increase, the number of trees appears to be declining.”