Pune: With Maharashtra announcing water cuts amid a drought situation, citizens have questioned the Pune forest department’s decision to clear a part of gliricidia vegetation on a forest land on Kothrud hill for proposed Miyawaki plantation.They have sought an immediate halt to further removal of gliricidia vegetation and a deferment of plantations at sites where the work is pending, citing concerns over water-intensive maintenance after the monsoon.The citizens said gliricidia vegetation on a hill along the road to NDA, Kothrud, had already been removed, with the proposed plantation involving 30,000 saplings per hectare yet to start. They added that gliricidia vegetation at other sites across Pune division was uprooted last month, though plantation has not yet been begun.Questioning the timing of the project, city resident Prajakta Divekar said the Miyawaki method would require substantial watering during the initial years of plant establishment. “How can plantation activities for a water-intensive programme be carried out after the monsoon season is over and a drought situation is underway?” she asked.Their concerns come amid mounting pressure on water resources. The state govt, in a GR dated Oct 5, announced a minimum 10% water cut across urban and rural local bodies from Oct 16, citing deficient monsoon rainfall and El Nino-related water scarcity. The resolution gave the highest priority to drinking water. Water for irrigation and other uses is to be released only after drinking water, livestock and fodder requirements are met, it said. It also prioritised rabi, foodgrain and fodder crops.Another citizen involved in writing to the forest department regarding this issue said, “Undertaking a plantation programme requiring sustained watering during a period of acute water scarcity as well as after the monsoon raises questions about the use of limited water resources. Planting a large numbers of saplings after the monsoon ends could also pose challenges to their survival.”Pashan resident Pushkar Kulkarni said, “The Miyawaki method involves planting trees and shrubs at high density to encourage rapid vegetation growth. However, there are concerns about its suitability for Pune’s dry deciduous, thorny scrub and grassland ecosystems, particularly in a year of deficient rainfall. We call for plantation approaches that are less water-intensive and better suited to the region’s natural ecology.”Citizens have urged the forest department to adopt a plantation method suited to local ecological conditions and water availability.Ecologist Gurudas Nulkar said, “Miyawaki plantations require deep trenches filled with soil brought in from elsewhere. Much of Pune’ hills have thin soil cover, making this necessary. This is neither ecologically prudent nor economically justified. Irrigation is also a concern amid water shortages.”“Highly resource-intensive methods such as Miyawaki require far more water than native trees adapted to the region’s natural precipitation cycles. Ecologically, it would make more sense to plant species suited to the hill ecosystem of Pune, where Gliricidia is removed. This would be a more sensible approach given the current water scarcity,” he added.A senior forest official told TOI, “The central govt allows the removal of vegetation under approved working plans, but there must be a provision for the next plantation. We are not removing vegetation and leaving the land bare. People say Miyawaki plantations require a lot of water. But we do not have to use drinking water for them. Water that is not fit for drinking can be used for the plants. Otherwise, that water could be discharged into the river.”The official said the removal of vegetation for Miyawaki plantations was being undertaken across Maharashtra at sites where the work had been approved under the respective working plans.On the reported clearance of four hectares at the NDA site, the official said he had received a complaint about the extent of land cleared and would visit the site to measure it. He indicated that the area he was aware of was around one hectare; not four hectares.
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