Heavy rains lashed Pune many times this monsoon bringing the city to a standstill, the latest during August 16-19. Flooded roads and railway station, mini-rivers in housing colonies and markets, flight disruptions, stranded commuters, and disaster management helpline inundated with calls – the playbook repeated many times exposing both the ill-preparedness of Pune Municipal Corporation and the impact of rampant construction disregarding ecology. Rapid urbanisation has wiped out many natural waterways and aquifers of the city. It has permanently lost at least three billion litres of groundwater storage due to construction of buildings.[1]
“Construction is responsible,” asserts Dr Priyadarshini Karve, convener, Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change (INECC), founder-director of Samuchit Enviro Tech, a social enterprise promoting environmentally sustainable energy, and a college lecturer on environmental issues. “Surface water and aquifers are getting blocked, there is no soil to absorb water. Even in building complexes, people tend to concretise open spaces. This is no space for the water to go…How much construction should happen in a city? What should be the population density in different areas? Therefore, what rules and regulations should apply to different zones? These basic questions should be revisited in the light of climate change. This has not happened,” Dr Karve speaks to Question of Cities about Pune’s short-sighted development plan, how the demand for housing has destroyed the city, but localised solutions and community participation can make a difference.
Does Pune have resources to sustain its rapid growth?
No, but resources being enough for a population is never simple and straightforward. It is dependent on what should be considered a respectable quality of life and, therefore, how much resources would be needed to create such a lifestyle for every individual. Then comes the question of whether there are enough resources.
Of course, in any given population there will be some stratification in access to resources. Some people will live a lavish lifestyle whereas others may struggle. But, at least theoretically, urban planning should be governed by considerations such as what is a decent lifestyle for that ecosystem and, then, based on the resources (primarily water) available, what should be the permitted population density. Pune is being allowed to expand with no such considerations; obviously, it is becoming highly unsustainable.
How has the city’s expansion stressed the city’s ecology? What impact do we see other than flooding?
The city has expanded in two ways. One is the replacement of one-to-three storey buildings by skyscrapers in residential and commercial areas. The other is the increase in the area of the municipal corporation by bringing fringe villages under the urban local body.
The first phenomenon has resulted in wider roads by cutting down old trees, concretised open surfaces, more parking space by constructing basements. In general, the concrete coverage in the old city has increased and natural pathways for rainwater to flow towards the rivers are blocked. This is a big contributor to flooding and waterlogging. And as climate change increases episodes of cloudbursts and heavy rainfall, this issue will be aggravated. The excessive concretisation combined with climate change is also going to increase the heat island effect and make summer heat waves more damaging for human health.
The second phenomenon is converting fringe villages into Pune’s suburbs, generally resulting in a loss of tree cover and damage to water bodies in these areas. Many villages are in the hills surrounding Pune; rampant construction activity has cut into the hills which has increased the danger of landslides. The administration is allowing construction but is failing to provide adequate services like water supply, wastewater treatment, waste management, public transport and so on. So people dig borewells, throw garbage and release untreated sewage in the open, and are forced to use private vehicles. All of these have an adverse impact on the local ecosystem.
What are the major disruptions to Pune’s rivers and water bodies?
There are actually five rivers in the region but two main rivers – Mutha and Mula – pass through densely populated urban areas. They come together at one point to become Mula-Mutha. There used to be several large streams – all gone now. Also, there is Ramnadi which has been encroached upon. There are hills surrounding the city. When it rains, water runs down the hills to the two rivers at their lowest point. Rivers and streams apart, there is a lot of water flowing underground.
In the process of construction, several streams have been built upon, especially in the last decade or so. When construction went underground to make basements for high-rises and parts of the metro, it started interfering with groundwater flows. Both surface water and aquifers are getting blocked, there is no soil because of the concrete roads to absorb water. People tend to concretise open spaces even in building complexes. There is no outlet for storm water which leads to flooding and waterlogging. Construction is responsible; it has exploded over the past few years.
Photo: Niraj Suryawanshi/ Wikimedia Commons
What factors have contributed to flooding?
Firstly, old trees were cut to build new areas; greenery is lost. Concretisation does not even leave open areas as soil to absorb and hold water. Earlier, people used to plant large trees around their buildings. Is the law to protect trees scaring people now? You can’t touch trees without the municipal corporation’s permission even if the branches enter your house. Maybe that’s why people prefer ornamental artificial greenery.
Rampant construction in hilly areas means the hills are being cut down and water bodies built upon. The natural pathways of water have been stopped; there is no telling where that water will come out from. Climate change has affected rainfall patterns with fewer rain days but in a higher quantity. All this means less space for more water – a recipe for disaster. You inevitably find waterlogging where there was no waterlogging. It’s a combination of bad urban development and climate change.
Where does the buck stop?
It is primarily a short-sighted urban planning issue. Both political and administrative decision-makers are responsible but it’s also the urbanisation policy that trickles down to the state government; the local government just implements the rules and regulations. These are bad enough; municipal corporations can permit 10- to 11-storey buildings without even considering water supply.
How much construction should happen in a city? What should be the population density in different areas? Therefore, what rules and regulations should apply to different zones? These basic questions should be revisited in the light of climate change. This has not happened. Urban planning tends to be driven by money, not the natural ecosystem.
Photo: Tushar Sarode/ Wikimedia Commons
With India facing extreme weather events regularly, what should be the starting point for climate action?
Climate adaptation, understanding climate vulnerabilities, and trying to build climate resilience are relatively new areas. Climate actions used to mean reducing emissions for a long time. The conversation about impacts is relatively new. Since the impacts are highly localised, they have to be dealt with locally. Climate change is a global crisis but the adaptation solutions have to come from locations directly facing its impacts. This becomes challenging. The funding generally goes to initiatives addressing issues which affect a large number of people.
There are cities in the world where local communities are coming together and transforming their localities into climate-resilient places. It is mostly a community-driven and NGO-driven effort. We need to start with this in Indian cities. Unless a large number of people demand sustainable growth of cities, policy conversations cannot change. But there is a poor understanding of climate impacts. People, who have a voice in the urban spaces, are typically the upper-middle class and the rich who benefit from all this construction.
When rainfall creates havoc, these people post about it on social media and then forget about it. But the schools, houses and livelihoods of the urban poor and lower-middle class are washed out. They suffer more though they have a limited voice in decision-making. The vision of a modern city is always depicted as high-rise buildings and lots of concrete. How do we change that to point out that ultimately everyone will be badly impacted?
Which international examples could we adopt in India?
We need highly localised solutions but basic principles can be followed. There is doughnut economics. The outer circle is the limit to using resources without impacting the planet and the inner circle is resource consumption for good quality of life for everyone. So, a maximum and minimum resource consumption respectively which should not be crossed. Amsterdam aligned its urban planning to this in the last four or five years. European cities have become a bit more conscious.
There is the Transition Movement which is also making communities more climate resilient. It started in Kinsale, a small city in Ireland, where people came together, tried to grow their food, use renewable energy, and reached a stage in local businesses that gave them advantages over multinational companies.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
What would be the localised steps in Pune?
People are working on various issues in Pune. An informal group came together a few years ago as Climate Collective Pune, an initiative by the Pune International Centre. We brought out a plan to make Pune city carbon-neutral by 2030, through collective brainstorming.
In the Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change (INECC), our motto is ‘People’s Voices in Policy Choices’. My work is addressing climate vulnerability and changing the approach to urban planning. Pune needs to be decongested by looking into its density, water resources and so on. There are reports that IT companies are moving out because of traffic and other problems; whatever the reason, if a few big companies move out of Pune, it might be a blessing in disguise.
We are also raising climate literacy among people about two major impacts – the urban heat island effect and flooding-waterlogging. We are working on a tool which has questions people can ask themselves and their neighbours to understand what risks are increasing in their neighbourhood, based on which, a disaster response can be planned. Pune Municipal Corporation is supposed to chalk out ward-level disaster management plans but nobody bothers to inform and educate local citizens.
We are designing a tool where citizens can look at land-use before the construction. Is the building being constructed by destroying a hill or a water stream? If so, there is likely to be more flooding. But finding data or records is difficult because sometimes the municipal corporation itself doesn’t have them. People who have been in an area 15 to 20 years can say what it used to be but this needs to be formalised. We are trying to understand the vulnerabilities in different municipal wards. We have interns documenting oral histories of people living in a certain area for decades, about the changes they have seen, their knowledge about streams and landscape features, and so on.
Through this, we found that the inner city areas along the riverside are relatively safer whereas the newly-developed areas built in total disregard to natural ecosystems are more vulnerable. The Carbon Neutral Pune 2030 plan has 8 to 10 initiatives, and is published as a document.[2] Aaditya Thackeray, as the environment minister, accepted it on behalf of the then state government. This was not just for Pune city but also for the Pune metropolitan region. After the government changed, it hasn’t moved. There was an attempt to create a climate cell too in PMC but it is not visible in any climate action.
Pune, like Bengaluru, may face water shortages in summer. But people’s memory is short; they have forgotten the water shortages now that the monsoon is here and water supply is normal. But climate events have shown us that every summer and monsoon will be more intense. We will reach a breaking point where things will have to change but why should we reach that stage? It’s important to take action today.
Are there positive takeaways in your two decades of experience in renewable energy and sustainable development?
When I started Samuchit, it was to promote energy-efficient cooking fuels and devices in rural areas but I saw the need to have conversations around sustainability and environment in cities – places of high consumption and high pollution. I have seen environmental awareness increase over the last 20 years.
When I first started talking about how urban Indians should look at climate change, there was hardly any response. Now in our workshops, most people are aware of basic facts and figures, and the conversation can move forward to understanding complexities, discussing solutions. The organisations working to protect rivers and hills, on traffic issues and urban design, have also started seeing the linkage with climate-related challenges. Academic institutions are offering courses related to climate change, which was not the case 20 years ago. University and research institutes are starting centres on sustainability and climate change.
Greenhouse gas emissions are mostly in urban settings, so the solutions also need to be here. I started conducting workshops on climate-friendly lifestyle, developed a carbon footprint calculator for urban Indians, was part of national and international groups on climate justice, so I started talking more about these aspects. I also developed a basic course on carbon accounting. Groups reached out to organise talks and discussions. We got funded to consult on sustainable urbanisation, allowing us to be a part of various organisations across the city. Samuchit basically acts as a knowledge disseminating agency and the response so far has been positive but there’s a long way to go.
Jashvitha Dhagey is a multimedia journalist and researcher. A recipient of the Laadli Media Award 2023, she observes and chronicles the multiple interactions between people, between people and power, and society and media. She developed a deep interest in the way cities function, watching Mumbai at work. She holds a post-graduate diploma in Social Communications Media from Sophia Polytechnic.
Cover photo: Wikimedia Commons
