Pune, 21st August 2026: City’s green cover continues to raise concerns despite significant spending by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on gardens and plantation activities.
According to information submitted by the civic administration, only 25.10 sq km of the city’s 249 sq km old municipal limits is currently covered by trees, accounting for roughly 10% of the area.
The figures were presented in the PMC’s response to a question raised by Congress group leader Adv. Chandusheth Kadam for the August general body meeting.
The limited tree cover has become a concern as Pune continues to expand rapidly. Increasing construction, road widening and concretisation are putting additional pressure on open spaces and existing trees.
The PMC Garden Department has developed 215 gardens across the city, covering around 24.53 lakh sq m. The civic body spent approximately ₹108.46 crore on garden maintenance and development over the past five years.
The annual expenditure was:
2021-22: ₹14.38 crore
2022-23: ₹32.22 crore
2023-24: ₹16.54 crore
2024-25: ₹20.32 crore
2025-26: ₹24.99 crore
Despite this spending, the available data does not clearly show how much the investment has increased Pune’s overall green cover.
Environmental concerns extend beyond the number of gardens maintained by the civic body. Experts and citizens have stressed the importance of protecting existing trees, hills, open spaces, land reserved for gardens, roadside green belts and naturally green areas.
With rapid concretisation, preserving existing vegetation is considered as important as creating new gardens. Mature trees and natural green spaces play a key role in maintaining the city’s ecological balance.
Another major concern is the lack of consolidated information on tree cutting and compensatory plantation over the past decade.
The PMC has stated that it does not have complete city-wide data showing how many trees received permission for removal, how many were actually cut, how many replacement trees were planted and how many of those trees survived.
The civic administration said the information is maintained by individual regional offices and has sought the details from them.
Data available from the Sinhagad Road regional office provides one example. The office granted permission for the removal of 266 trees, while 1,066 replacement trees were planted.
However, the available information does not indicate how many of these trees survived, whether they received regular maintenance or whether they have grown sufficiently.
The figures have therefore raised questions about whether compensatory plantation is producing a measurable increase in Pune’s tree cover.
The PMC’s spending on gardens and plantation shows continued investment in urban greenery, but the city’s overall tree cover remains limited. Better monitoring of plantation survival, stronger protection of existing trees and regular publication of consolidated data could help assess whether these efforts are improving Pune’s environmental health.
With urbanisation and construction continuing, protecting the city’s remaining green spaces will be crucial for maintaining Pune’s ecological balance.
