Raj Thackeray opposes tree felling for Sadhu Gram ahead of Nashik Kumbh Mela

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday (November 29, 2025) opposed the State government’s plan to fell trees in Nashik’s Tapovan area for the construction of Sadhu Gram ahead of the 2026 Kumbh Mela and warned that his party would stand with the citizens if the government adopts a confrontational stance.

The proposed Sadhu Gram is planned on an area of ​​around 1,000 to 1,200 acres in Nashik’s Tapovan area and around 1,800 trees have been marked for removal, according to municipal notices. Environmental groups and residents claim that some of these trees are more than a century old. A notice by the Nashik Municipal Corporation inviting objections received hundreds of responses and a recent hearing saw strong protests against the plan.

On November 24, the Nashik Municipal Corporation announced that old and old trees will not be cut down, only young trees and bushes will be removed.

Coming to X, Mr. Thackeray said that the government has decided to cut down 1,800 trees for the upcoming Kumbh Mela, but this is not the first Kumbh Mela to be held in Nashik. A Kumbh Mela was also organized during the tenure of the Municipal Corporation led by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

“We had built a lot of infrastructure at that time. There was good communication between the companies and the management at that time, so what the public wanted was taken into consideration when doing the work,” he said.

He claimed that the government should not miss the opportunity to shove something “down the throats of the industrialists” in the name of the sadhu. He also claimed that a few years ago, the BJP government had announced that it would plant several crore trees but never did so.

“BJP is either gobbling up land or acting as broker to industrialists. Nashik residents are strongly against this. I have an appeal to residents to stand firm. I assure MNS is with them. There is really no politics in this, we will continue to oppose it even after the election,” he said.

He called on the ruling party to “not escalate the conflict unnecessarily.”

Actor and activist Sayaji Shinde also opposed the plan, saying, “Trees are our parents. Not a single tree should be cut down for Sadhu Gram.”

Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal claimed that the government’s concern for sadhus was only a surface.

“Sadhus traditionally lived in the midst of nature, in the hills, forests and mountains. There is no point in destroying thousands of trees for their own gain. The real aim is to clear land and siphon funds. Cutting trees is just an excuse,” Mr. Sapkal said.