Save the Tekdi
Vetal Tekdi is Pune’s highest point inside the city, a spur of the Western Ghats with a quarry wetland, grassland, woodland and dry deciduous forest a short walk apart. About 280 bird species have been recorded here. It is not protected by law.
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What is at stake
A road about 2.1 km long and 30 m wide is proposed across the hill, with roughly 1,500 trees to be cut.
Tunnels have been proposed under the quarry wetland, the hill’s only year-round water and home to grebes, moorhens and herons.
Each cut breaks the corridor that raptors, migrants and resident birds use to move across the city.
Timeline
1982
A highway across Law College Hill is scrapped after public opposition. Source
1980s
The first citizen movement to protect Vetal Tekdi, led mostly by women.
Jan 2016
Bombay High Court requires an environmental impact assessment and expert review before road work. Source
2020
With no elected corporators, the administration revives old development-plan projects, some from 1987.
2022
The city budget carries a 2.5 km road across the eastern face, two tunnels under the wetland and a link road over the ridge. ARAI seeks more land for a test track; a Doppler radar is proposed on top.
Apr 2023
Thousands of Punekars rally to protect the hill. Source
Nov 2023
The first Vetal Tekdi Birding Marathon records 111 species in a week.
Feb 2025
Bombay High Court dismisses a citizens’ plea against the Balbharati–Paud Phata road. Source
2025
The Central Empowered Committee tells Maharashtra not to work in “deemed forest” on the road alignment, after a VTBKS representation. Source
Oct 2025
Supreme Court: the road cannot start without environmental clearance. Source
Nov 2025
VTBM records 164 species in one week, on a hill with no legal protection.
The legal situation keeps moving. Follow @VTBKS_Pune for the latest.
Who protects it
The Vetal Tekdi Bachav Kruti Samiti (VTBKS) is an apolitical coalition of citizen groups. Its volunteers run awareness campaigns, file public-interest litigation, and lead free bird walks. VTBKS asks for Vetal Tekdi to be declared a natural heritage site with no-construction zoning, and wants to help the Forest Department build a biodiversity register for the hill.
How you can help
- Bird the marathon: every checklist is evidence.
- Log your everyday walks on eBird at the Vetal Tekdi hotspot.
- Join or volunteer for a Vetal Tekdi Trail.
- Follow and share: @VTBKS_Pune, @OldWonk.
- Write or call VTBKS: vetaltekdibm@gmail.com · Ranjeet Rane, +91 74200 71818