PUNE: A group of volunteers from diverse professional fields, under the banner of the Deccan Gymkhana Parisar Samiti (DGPS), has punched holes in the civic body's report that claims that the proposed Paud Phata - Balbharati Road will not affect the biodiversity of the area but actually help reduce congestion and pollution.
The PMC has proposed a link road that will start at Kelewadi junction and culminate at Balbharati (behind ILS Law College on SB Road). The length of the proposed road is approximately 2.1km. Environmentalists and citizens have already raised their objections claiming that the proposed road will cut through the green belt which has rich biodiversity. Following the opposition, the PMC appointed the Shrishti Eco-Research Institute to prepare an environment impact assessment report together with a traffic survey. The report submitted by Shrishti Institute seconded PMC's plan.
"We are outraged that this ridiculous and technically flawed report has been accepted by the PMC as a basis for constructing a road which will have major consequences on the flora and fauna of the hill it will pass through. The proposed road will also have an impact on the health of thousands of Puneites who visit this small oasis of greenery and serenity for their daily exercise," said Sushma Date and Suvrat Kher, members of the DGPS, in a statement issued on Monday.
"In accepting a report which is shoddily prepared at best or fraudulent at worst, we suspect that the PMC has caved in to pressure from powerful lobbies in favour of the road and overlooked the best interests of the people it is supposed to serve," the statement added.
The DGPS members said the report had errors in multiplication and addition leading to erroneous claims of benefits. "It has flawed methodology in estimating reduction in air pollution due to proposed road. The report has erroneous claims that revenue generated by sale of carbon credits could fund improvement in public transport. Also there are flaws in traffic survey. This is an environmental impact assessment and yet there is no census taken of trees which will be felled during the construction. All the numbers in report are presented without identifying their source or without presenting a reasonable argument. While potential general impacts are identified, there is a lack of site specific analysis" states the press release issue by the DGPS. Members also added that there was lack of site specific studies in the Impact Analysis Statement.
The Shrishti Eco-Research Institute has submitted its report to the PMC and the civic body is mulling over the report. A senior civic official said that the corporation was "studying" the report and any further decision will be taken only after deliberate discussions with elected members and citizens.
