EXCLUSIVE: Pune's ₹1.5 Crore Water Conservation Park In Baner Shut For Months, Residents Call It A Waste Of Public Money (PHOTOS)

Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited (PSCDCL), under the Smart City Mission, constructed a water conservation park in Baner, costing around ₹1.5 crore. However, residents are raising concerns that, instead of addressing the need for a proper water pipeline, creating a water conservation park is simply a waste of public money.

Team FPJ (The Free Press Journal) visited the spot and found that the park was locked and abandoned. The people who were there told FPJ that this water conservation park was open only for two months, and only a handful of people who lived nearby were aware of it. They used to come, sit in the garden, and take selfies. However, the garden has been locked for the past few months, and there has been no notice or any formal communication regarding the same by the authorities. When people were asked about the park, they were not aware that it was a water conservation park.

Rahul Sachdeva, a resident of Baner, said, "All we know is that this is a public park and has been closed for the last two to three months. In March, people used to sit here and take selfies. Mostly, this park was occupied by elderly people. We live near this area, so we are aware of its existence, but there's not much promotion as such. This looks like a normal garden. But authorities should at least put up some notice regarding the closing or if they are going to open it to the public. We need public gardens to sit and go on walks in the evening."

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"It's surprising that it's a water conservation park because we are not aware — and how would we know? We saw no one here explaining or creating awareness about water conservation. Making buildings in the name of conservation won't conserve our natural resources. It's simply a waste of money," said another local, Riddhi Gayakwad.

"Over 50% of Pune’s households still don’t receive municipal water at home, yet the PMC is busy wasting crores on vanity projects like water conservation parks instead of fixing the basics — like pipelines. This is nothing short of a structured way to burn public money. With no elected corporators in place for years, Pune is effectively under President’s Rule. One Commissioner cannot handle a city growing at this pace. The result? Industries are moving out, and Pune is failing its citizens every single day," said Ravi Kumar, a Punekar.

#AnotherSmartCityScam

So @PMCPune built a ₹1.5 Cr water conservation park in Baner under the #SmartCity project across two phases instead of laying a water pipeline.

Look at its condition: abandoned and useless. Who’s going to visit or learn anything here? Compared to how… pic.twitter.com/IJwTR2n9dL

— Defence Brat (@DefenceBrat) July 27, 2025

This issue also created a buzz on social media, where users said that this project is an utter waste of public money.

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"It's really shameful that we, the people in Wagholi, are waiting for drinking water from authorities like PMRDA and PMC, and the money is wasted like this??" wrote a user.

Another social media user wrote, "Four years living in a nearby society. Never knew it was a water conservation park. This is one more smart work from PMC. It’s used to dry clothes and the gates are always closed."

Another user commented, "So instead of making roads and improving infrastructure, they are using this 'SmartCity' keyword to loot public money."

Meanwhile, PMC Additional Commissioner Prithviraj BP said, "The project was under the Smart City mission and now has been handed over to PMC. We will be appointing workers and designated officers to serve its purpose, and will also ask the garden department to look into it and to open it for the public."

The Smart City Mission, a key project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, initially included Pune among a few select cities. However, the central government decided to end this mission by June 2023. Thereafter, the PSCDCL started writing letters to the PMC to take charge of various projects. PMC has also initiated a process to take charge of different Smart City development projects.