Actor Sayaji Shinde joins chorus of protest as 1700 trees planned to be cut for Kumbh Mela

Mumbai, Nov 21 (PTI) Actor Sayaji Shinde on Friday lent his voice to growing opposition to the plan to remove nearly 1,700 trees in Nashik for a `Sadhu Gram' ahead of the 2026-27 Kumbh Mela, saying not a single tree will be allowed to be cut.

Shinde, who is a member of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, also dismissed Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan's assurance about compensatory plantation, asking whether there was any way to ensure that it actually happens.

The Sadhu Gram to house religious leaders is being planned over 1,200 acres ahead of the Mela which will begin from October 31, 2026. Environmental activists have filed over 400 objections after 1,670 trees were marked for removal with yellow paint, claiming that some of the trees are 100 years old.

Shinde, known for championing the cause of tree plantation and conservation, said he could not describe his anguish in words.

"I told activists that if the government wants to cut even one tree, there should be a hundred people ready to sacrifice themselves before they even touch it," he said in Nashik, speaking to reporters amid ongoing protests.

"Even in Satara district, the Lonand-Satara road-widening work will lead to the cutting of around 400 banyan trees," he said, adding that "despite our own government being in power, such irresponsible behaviour is seen widely." The NCP led by Ajit Pawar, for which the actor had campaigned during elections, is part of the ruling BJP-led coalition.

As to the assurance of mitigatory measures, Shinde said, "There is no mechanism to verify if the state has actually planted compensatory saplings, or whether those saplings have survived and grown into proper trees....Will any government department provide conclusive evidence that these plantations have actually been done?" BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar, during his tenure as forest minister, undertook plantation drives, "but nothing concrete happened," the actor said, adding, "I do not know whether to call this democracy or autocracy." "If someone raises their voice, it is suppressed. Everyone has become so pretentious and phony, and I think we are reaching a tipping point," the actor said.

Trees are proposed to be removed from 54-acre land in Tapovan under the Nashik Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) jurisdiction.

Speaking to protesters on Thursday, minister and BJP leader Girish Mahajan had said ten trees will be planted for every felled tree, and wherever possible, trees will be transplanted.

"Saints and `mahants' will arrive not only from India but across the world for the Simhastha Kumbh Mela. Hence, a Sadhu Gram is being developed by the municipal corporation," he said, adding that the number of devotees expected to attend will be many times higher than previous Melas, Ecological concerns must be balanced with infrastructure requirements, he said, adding that Nashik has very limited space compared to Prayagraj, another Kumbh venue.

But green activists stressed that they were not opposed to the Kumbh Mela, but were against the felling of old and large trees.

Yogesh Barve of Kapila River Conservation Committee said large trees were never axed for Kumbh Mela in the past.

"Now, even centuries-old banyan, tamarind, peepal and umbar (cluster fig) trees have been marked for axing. If 100-year-old trees are to be cut, we will protest," he added.

Additional municipal commissioner Karishma Nair said old trees would be spared.

"Only construction-affected trees less than ten years old will be cut. If a seven-year-old tree is removed, seven new trees will be planted. Preserving old trees is the responsibility of the municipal corporation," she assured. PTI ND NSK KRK