In 2015, the Pune Municipal Corporation, then run by Nationalist Congress Party, invited bids to clean up and “rejuvenate” the polluted Mula and Mutha rivers. The riverfront development project, the PMC said, would cut the risk of flooding in the rivers and beautify stretches of their banks totalling 44 km. Seven firms bid for the project and it eventually went to HCP Design of Bimal Patel, the chief architect of Narendra Modi’s pet projects - Central Vista in Delhi, Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi, Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad – which have been mired in allegations of violating rules and showing no regard for nature or sustainability. The Pune riverfront project, projected to be completed in 10 years at a cost of Rs 4,700 crore – its estimated cost has shot up from Rs 2,619 in 2018 – appears to be going the same way.
Government records obtained by environmental activist Sarang Yadwadkar through RTI Act requests indicate that the project is being executed in violation of regulations.
