Overview

• Municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram inspected the Bal Bharati–Paud Phata alignment and directed officials to expedite the Environment Clearance application.
• PMC said surveys are underway and a consultant will be appointed to secure the mandatory clearance for the elevated 2.1 km link.
• The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Bhushan Gavai and Justice Vinod Chandran ordered that construction cannot start without EC and asked the EIA authority to decide expeditiously.
• Petitioner Sushma Date said the formal Supreme Court order is still awaited and objected to fast-tracking, citing protection of Vetal Tekdi and ‘Deemed Forest’ concerns.
• PMC launched a tree-planting drive near the proposed route under Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam, planting about 500 native saplings, as opponents warn of potential large-scale tree-felling on the Law College slope.