Pune: Sahakarnagar Citizens Forum Collaborates with Forest Department to Address Taljai Tekdi Concerns

Sahakar Nagar, 12th March 2024: To the management of Taljai Tekdi, a collaborative meeting took place yesterday (11th March 2024) between the Sahakarnagar Citizens Forum and the forest department to address community concerns and requests. Subsequently, the forest department has decided to establish an Urban Joint Forest Management Committee (UJFMC) to oversee and manage activities related to forest management in Taljai Tekdi.

Amit Abhyankar, Founder Member of the Sahakar Nagar Citizens’ Forum, said, “An upcoming meeting on the Independent Forest Committee is scheduled for tomorrow (13th March), open to all. Going forward, all work and activities will be conducted under the scrutiny of the Committee. Recent instances of unauthorized tree cutting on Taljai Tekdi will be halted, and any future activities will only proceed under the supervision of the Committee.”

Over the preceding years, there has been a noticeable lack of communication from the forest department to the Sahakarnagar citizens regarding ongoing activities in the Taljai Forest Department.

The Sahakarnagar Citizen Forum presented a set of demands to the forest department:

1. Conduct a joint inspection of ongoing tree felling activities, involving the forest department, environmental experts, and citizens, to ensure adherence to regulations. If unauthorized tree felling is identified, appropriate action should be taken against the responsible parties.
2. Implement a system to record the entry and exit of vehicles at the forest department gate, along with mandatory Forest Duty signboards on entering vehicles.
3. Enforce the requirement for forest department passes for contractors’ employees working within the forest area.
4. Ensure the presence of a knowledgeable and responsible forest department officer during any tree felling or plantation activities.
5. Install prominent information boards at all entry and exit gates of the forest department, outlining ongoing work, location, duration, and contractor information.
6. Install CCTV surveillance at entry and exit points.

Regarding the Urban Joint Forest Management Committee (UJFMC), Mahadev Mohite, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Pune Forest Department, shared further details:

A meeting on 13/03/2024 at 5:00 PM at Van Bhavan, Bhamburda, Gokhale Nagar, Pune, was organized to discuss the implementation of UJFMC. All concerned individuals are urged to attend on time.

To efficiently manage the hills and forests in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporations, an open discussion session was held on 4/3/2024. The decision was made to revive separate UJFMCs and take action according to the guidelines of the Government Decision dated 4 August 2015. The following actions are planned:

1. Enroll interested members and registered organizations for the functioning of an independent UJFMC.
2. Form an executive committee from registered members, including former corporators, appointed members, and representatives from registered organizations.
3. The Executive Committee should determine the working procedure by government decisions, laws, approved work plans, and circulars, considering member suggestions.
4. Make efforts to make the UJFMC self-sufficient and create internal sub-committees for daily work planning and record management.
5. Hold joint meetings on the first Monday of every month at 5:00 pm at Van Bhavan, Gokhale Nagar, Pune-16, and conduct separate meetings as required.

L.N. Shinde, Accountant (Contact No – 70389 97766), will serve as the Liaison Officer of the UJFMC from the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Pune office.