Special Correspondent
Pimpri-Chinchwad: Roadside trees planted by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s (PCMC) Garden Department are increasingly being targeted by shopkeepers and advertisers who indiscriminately cut or prune them to improve the visibility of their hoardings and shop signs. This issue is particularly prevalent in Charholi, Wadmukhwadi, and along Dehu-Alandi Road, where both the Garden Department and the Sky Sign and License Department appear to be neglecting enforcement.
Despite the municipal corporation imposing strict penalties for unauthorized tree cutting and pruning— with the Tree Conservation Committee increasing fines tenfold—violations continue under the pretense of routine trimming. Reports indicate that trees are often cut at night to evade detection, and images of such illegal activity have gone viral on social media.
Environmental activist Prashant Raul from Green Army, Pimpri-Chinchwad, highlighted the concerning trend: “Many shopkeepers remove branches from large trees to ensure their signage remains visible. In some cases, newly planted trees are completely uprooted and discarded overnight. Even large, well-established trees are felled without authorization.”
Although citizens have raised concerns, including a recent tree-cutting incident in Wakad, the PCMC has been slow to take action. According to the Tree Act, 1975, legal action must be taken against individuals involved in illegal tree felling.
