Pune: CEC directs State to halt Balbharti-Paud Phata Road Project
Pune: The Central Empowered Committee (CEC), in a letter dated May 16, 2025, addressed to the State Chief Secretary, directed that no construction activity be undertaken for the Balbharti-Paud Phata road project until the matter is considered by the Supreme Court (SC).
The CEC has specifically instructed that no work should be carried out in areas that are “Deemed Forest”, through which the proposed 2.1 km road alignment passes. Undertaking
construction in this area would constitute violation of the Supreme Court’s judgement in the TN Godavarman vs Union of India & Ors Case (1996), as well as the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023.
The directive follows a representation submitted in March 2024 by members of the Vetal Tekdi Bachav Kruti Samiti (VTBKS), a citizen’s collective, seeking the CEC’s intervention to prevent
irreversible ecological damage to the hill slope and forest ecosystem of Vetal Tekdi. The petition challenged the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)’s plan to proceed with the
project as a temporary traffic decongestion measure, arguing that it has failed to truly comply with the Bombay High Court order of 2016 mandating both a need assessment and an environmental impact assessment before any decision to proceed.
In response to this petition by VTBKS, the CEC conducted a site visit and subsequently submitted its report, which is currently under consideration by the Apex Court.
The State Government has been directed to maintain a status quo and ensure that no activity is undertaken in the area until the Supreme Court delivers its decision.
