Mumbai: Nashik’s Tapovan area has a special place in Hindu mythology. In the Ramayana, it is referred to as the place Rama spent part of his exile and took a holy dip in the river Godavari. The forest area has now become a flashpoint between Nashik residents and the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government, which plans to clear 54 acres in Tapovan for a ‘Sadhugram’ to host sadhus visiting Nashik for the Simhasta Kumbh Mela.
Thousands of visitors and sadhus are expected to travel from across the country for the Simhastha Kumbh held in Nashik once every 12 years. This time, it will be held over a period of 18 months between 2026 and 2028.
The Nashik Municipal Corporation is locked in a fierce battle with local environmentalists and activists over the proposed tree cutting inside Tapovan’s eco-sensitive area. According to the initial plan, the project involves hacking 1,825 trees.
Several social and environmental organisations have been protesting at the site, hugging trees, reciting poetry, staging skits and using social media to spread their message. Some allege the land will be used for a commercial project after the Kumbh.
Even the Hindu Mahasabha has lent its support to the cause.
Anand Dave, spokesperson of the Hindu Mahasabha, told ThePrint, “We demand that this Tapovan should be declared as a green zone and no trees should be cut. The administration just wants to sell this land to private players, nothing else, which we oppose.”
The issue has also spiralled into a political controversy with leaders such as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray and Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal criticising the plan.
Moreover, some local BJP functionaries as well as party sympathisers have come out in support of the activists. On Wednesday, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai that the trees that will be affected didn’t exist at the site before 2015-2016.
“When the Maharashtra government took up a tree plantation project, the Nashik Municipal Corporation planted trees here in large numbers because the land was vacant and is used only once in 12 years,” he said.
Adding, “But now the trees have become dense, and building a Sadhugram here has become difficult. We will look into it and see how we can minimise damage to trees. Whatever we can replant, we will replant, and we will try to save as many trees as possible.” He added that space was a challenge as Nashik only had 300-350 acres available while the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela had about 15,000 hectares.
“Some people have become environmentalists over the issue due to political reasons. But we will not let anyone create unnecessary hurdles in the Kumbh Mela,” Fadnavis said.
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Govt says no big trees will be cut
Nashik Municipal Commissioner Manisha Khatri told reporters Monday that the civic body would only clear foreign shrubs that had grown in Tapovan in recent years. “We will not cut trees, only clear the area of foreign trees and shrubs that have grown in the last five to seven years. In fact, the corporation has also decided to plant over 1 lakh trees across Nashik. And we will make sure they live,” Khatri told the media.
She added that the plan for the Nashik Kumbh Mela is similar to the last Kumbh.
A Sadhugram will be built for saints and big sheds will be built for the three main ‘Akhadas’ like the last Simhastha, Khatri said.
“There is nothing new in this plan. Some people are misleading. For them, I would like to say one thing that we will take care of the flora and fauna inside; we will try to save as many trees as we can. We will not cut any of the big trees,” she said.
But activists were not convinced. Devang Jani, one of the activists leading the protest at Tapovan, told ThePrint that the government has floated a tender for a commercial project, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions). “People earlier thought that the trees would be cut for a Sadhugram for saints, but it is for a commercial project, MICE. It includes an entertainment park, commercial purposes, conferences, etc,” Jani said.
Even Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati of the Jyotir Math in Uttarakhand was enraged over the proposed tree felling. “The administration will cut these trees and build a Sadhugram here. They will then tell sadhus how much they have done for them,” he told reporters. “And once the Kumbh will be over, the plot will then be sold for commercial purposes to private players in the name of some government scheme,” he added.
Khatri told reporters in Nashik that the land’s ownership would remain with the Nashik corporation. “Once the Kumbh mela is over, we will develop the land so that we can get revenue out of it,” she said. ThePrint has seen the MICE project tender document for the land where the trees will be cut, which was floated in November.
ThePrint reached Manisha Khatri via calls and email for comment, but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if a response is received.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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