Pune: PCMC Replaces Proposed SWM Plant in Punawale with Convention Center in New DP

Punawale, 22nd May 2025: A Solid Waste Management (SWM) plant was originally planned by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on land owned by the Maharashtra Forest Department in Punawale. However, the project faced strong opposition from local residents. Numerous protests, letters, and follow-ups were carried out from the local level to the state government, and it now appears that these efforts have paid off.

Last week, PCMC’s Town Planning Department submitted a new Development Plan (DP), in which the proposed SWM project has been replaced by a reservation for a convention center. This change has been welcomed by the residents of Punawale and nearby areas.

The contested land is part of the forest department’s jurisdiction and is located between the villages of Hinjawadi, Punawale, Marunji, and Tathawade. PCMC had been seeking 60 acres of this land and has been in communication with the Forest Department for nearly 12 years. Reportedly, PCMC had paid about Rs 5 Crore to the Forest Department as a token amount and had agreed to provide alternative land in Chandrapur in exchange. To this end, the PCMC had initiated the process of purchasing 30–40 acres of land.

Although the SWM project had received approval back in 2008, when Punawale was not yet urbanized, the region has seen rapid development over the past 17 years. Today, Punawale has a population exceeding one lakh and is a preferred residential location due to its natural surroundings, proximity to the IT park, and access to health, education, and housing infrastructure. Many IT professionals have made Punawale their home, investing their life savings in property.

Meanwhile, the existing PCMC garbage depot in Moshi is nearing full capacity, making it necessary for the civic body to find an alternative waste management solution. Residents feared that the PCMC had earmarked Punawale for this purpose.

Former Chinchwad BJP MLA Ashwini Jagtap had raised the issue of the Punawale SWM project during the winter session of the Maharashtra State Assembly in response to public protests. At the time, then Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar clarified that the land in question remained under the Forest Department’s control and had not been handed over to the PCMC, which meant the PCMC had no authority to proceed with the project.

Now, with the latest DP replacing the SWM facility with a convention center, residents are visibly relieved. However, many are urging the authorities to preserve the area’s natural environment during construction. Some are advocating for the development of an oxygen park within the 60-acre site instead.

Why Was the SWM Depot Opposed in Punawale?

The proposed SWM plant was just a few meters from residential neighborhoods, raising concerns about health hazards and environmental degradation. Starting the project would have required cutting down many trees, potentially destroying Punawale’s natural assets and contaminating its water sources. Given its location on the city’s western edge, where winds blow west to east, residents feared the stench from the plant would spread to Punawale, Wakad, Tathawade, Hinjawadi IT Park, and Marunji, affecting thousands.

Major Protests Against the Proposed Garbage Depot in Punawale

Public outcry gained momentum when, on 29th October 2023, protestors met with Raj Thackeray and discussed the negative implications of the project. Thackeray assured them he would look into the matter. A major bike rally was later organized by the Pimpri Chinchwad Cooperative Housing Society Federation and the Punawale Residents Association. Residents also staged a Chipko protest at the proposed site, emphasizing that the area was too densely populated for such a facility. This was followed by a bell-ringing protest to “wake up” the PCMC administration and a chain hunger strike organized by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in opposition to the project.