Pune Municipal Corporation has proposed an ambitious project of “River Front Development” (RFD). The project is planning to channelize the rivers of Pune in massive (44 km long, 30-40 ft high) concrete embankments and build 3 barrages on it, at the cost of 5000 crores of taxpayers’ money. The impacts of this project in its current form will be devastating for the city.

Moreover, such a large amount of public money is going to be spent with disdainful lack of diligence and attention to fundamental and important aspects of the project. Some of the most glaring being

• A Fraudulent and fabricated hydraulic study
• No impact assessment of Climate Change
• No study of the hydrogeology
• A flawed environmental clearance
• An Illegal shifting of flood lines to accommodate the project

The struggle is for the Pune Municipal Corporation to STOP the current implementation which it has begun in all earnest, RESPOND to questions raised against the current plan that endangers the lives of people and the state of the River itself and TAKE a science-backed, citizen-friendly and an ecologically sound approach to the RFD.

The devil is in the details. While the report appears presentable with its images and drawings and explanation, it has glaring drawbacks based on flawed premises, misinformation, lack of due diligence and basic understanding of the science of rivers. The report itself has glaring inconsistencies which have been conveniently, or by convenient oversight, overlooked. Here are a few glaring examples

• Example of Lack of Due Diligence:

A report by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) on the impacts of climate change states that there will be a 37.5% rise in annual rainfall in Pune with more frequent cloudbursts. There has been no consideration of this in the RFD project

• Example of Flawed premise:

The entire RFD rests on the premise that the River is clean. However, the report itself says that it will be depending on other projects (like the JICA project) for river cleaning. Incidentally, the JICA project was sanctioned 5 years ago and has not even started but the RFD has.

The numbers tell the story.

Downstream  people will continue to suffer  by  water borne diseases and other diseases like cancer and impotence . Also, citizens of Pune, because of stagnant sewage will continue to suffer from water hyacinth menace and breeding ground of mosquitoes 

• Example of Misinformation / Inconsistencies:

Environmental Clearances (EC) are mandatory for projects of this size. However, there are clear evidences of how some of these clearances have been flouted on multiple grounds. In the EC, it is highlighted that the total Built Area proposed in this project is 0.00 Sq. M. However, as per the Detailed Project Report (DPR), a minimum of 20,00,000 Sq. M. Built Area (494 Acres) is proposed in this project for various uses.

• Example of planned Irregularities:

Blue line and Red line which are artificial lines represent the flood line levels of the River. The red line demarcates the area along the River that is likely to be inundated for the highest flood in 100 years while the Blue line demarcates the area along the River that is likely to be inundated for the highest flood in 25 years. These lines have been arbitrarily altered to accommodate all aspects of the project. Court directives have been flouted to monetize riparian lands within the flood lines and allow changes in restrictive zones.

The entire RFD rests on the premise that the River is clean. However, the report itself says that it will be depending on other projects (like the JICA project) for river cleaning. Incidentally, the JICA project was sanctioned 5 years ago and has not even started but the RFD has.

The numbers tell the story.

Downstream  people will continue to suffer  by  water borne diseases and other diseases like cancer and impotence . Also, citizens of Pune, because of stagnant sewage will continue to suffer from water hyacinth menace and breeding ground of mosquitoes 

Yes, several. Here are the more obvious.

1. We will see a catastrophic increase in flood levels and flood frequency due to

• a drastic Reduction in the natural width of the river caused by the channelization (retaining walls along the banks)
• No consideration of increasing water levels due to increasing cloudburst frequency and intensity in future as predicted by studies carried out by the “The Energy and Resources Institute” for the Government of Maharashtra.

The idea of alleviating river floods by channelizing and narrowing the river bed is completely unscientific and illogical as claimed in the current RFD.

1. Entire biodiversity along the river banks will be irreversibly destroyed due to the reclamation of the floodplains, which will be an irreparable loss and irreversible loss.

If the objective of the RFD is to connect people to the River with all its natural biodiversity, we need the River and the biodiversity first. In the current form, the connect with the River will be akin to sitting on the side of a long swimming pool of stinking water.

Currently the only fish that can be found, if at all, in the river is the Tilapia (known as Chilapi locally), an invasive species. Although a freshwater fish, this fish has survived downstream in the polluted river but is home to other fish or any other marine life.

1. Depletion of existing Groundwater Table, as the RCC embankments shall cut off all aquifers from the main flow of river thereby destroying the groundwater recharge and discharge zones permanently. This impact is also irreparable and irreversible.
2. Traffic disruption leading to Air pollution, as no proper study has been conducted to identify the modalities of a changing traffic network arising out of the submergence of existing roads, dismantling of existing bridges and elevation of several bridges.

No study has been conducted to understand and quantify these impacts which are inevitable and life-threatening

Check out the articles on this website. The objections raised are the same –

• Ensure that the river is 100% clean before RFD
• Ensure that the river is not made into a canal. The river is more than just water
• Ensure that all impacts of an RFD are systematically studied, mitigation or alternative measures identified, public opinion sought, public questions answered, public grievances addressed before the RFD plan is put up for implementation

These images are just optics – images that do not represent the truth; images that are borrowed from elsewhere enticing people to accept and acknowledge the RFD in its current form. Two questions immediately come to mind. Have you wondered where the water in the 44km long river stretch is going to come from when no water is released from the dams during the summer and winter months? So, if the barrages are going to hold rainwater post monsoon and also going to take the effluent from the city into it, isn’t it necessary to ensure 100% clean water into the river before it is released? Has this been taken care of? The answer is no.

So, in effect, we will have a large swimming pool with dirty water constantly fed into it, in which water hyacinth will continue to grow.

When a channel is made narrow, with the same volume of water, does the water level in the channel rise or reduce? Do we need to say more?

There are several ways in which you can show your support and be part of a voice that wants to stop the RFD in its current form. In the process, also get informed and enlightened about our natural heritage necessary, in the least, for our own existence. You can write to your local corporator, to the Mayor, Chief Minister about this, join a chain fast to show solidarity and commitment to the cause, sign the petition, volunteer to spread the message, arrange public outreach events and contribute ideas to how we can reach out and get more people into the fold of mass awareness and movement.

Yes, there are always alternatives to the methods and creating an ecologically sound RFD. Good amount of thought has already been put to suggest/propose ways in which the same objectives, stated in the current RFD, can be achieved.

It has been noticed however that the ecological alternatives are being mindlessly borrowed and made a part of the DPR merely currently to show its inclusion and silence the resistance. In fact, the “River Front Development” project has been intelligently rechristened as the “River Rejuvenation Project” to eyewash the public into thinking that the project indeed is for the river.

Also, speaking of alternatives at this time gives a platform and an opportunity for the Corporation to hold “mindful” citizens culpable of pushing their limited agenda. This enables them to digress and take the argument away from the one immediate GOAL – to stop the RFD in its current form.